Ophthalmology students supporting screening camps | #2030InSight
Tej Kohli & Ruit Foundation screening camps provide an on-site learning experience for eye health students
Ophthalmic Assistants are mid-level ophthalmic professionals, and are considered the backbone of the eye care service sector. They perform eye examinations, diagnose ocular disorders, and perform various investigative procedures which make a direct contribution towards reducing the impact of blindness and other forms of visual impairment.
Birendra Chaudhary, Anurag Prajapati, Naresh Acharya, Swastika Kumari Rana, Manju Bhandari and Gayatri Kumari Bhatta are third year students pursuing a course to become an Ophthalmic Assistant at the Fateh Bal Eye Hospital in Nepalgunj, Banke.
In June, they were a part of the Tej Kohli and Ruit Foundation screening team led by Ophthalmic Assistants Umer Sadiq and Chhanduk Lal Tharu to conduct 16 screening camps in Bardiya, Nepal in an initiative to cure an entire community of needless blindness.
The 16 screening camps were instrumental to the students to gain on-site learning experience of organizing screening camps, and assessing eye health of patients. All in their 3rd year and at the verge of completing their course, they were grateful to have received the opportunity to gain valuable experience in conducting eye health tests with the Tej Kohli & Ruit Foundation.
“This has been a learning experience for us, applying our theoretical knowledge to practical use”, Prajapati one of the students shared as he checked the vision of the patients queuing outside the small classroom in Bardiya, Nepal. “Additionally, we are also happy to be of service to the community”, he added, referring to the free screening camps for thousands of needy people.
Altogether, the screening team screened 1,607 patients in the sixteen camps, and is looking forward to working at more camps with the Tej Kohli & Ruit Foundation.
The Tej Kohli & Ruit Foundation was founded in March 2021 by London philanthropist Tej Kolhi and Kathmandu ‘God of Sight’ Dr Sanduk Ruit. As of November 2022 the NGO had screened 170,022 patients and cured 22,663of blindness at 91 outreach camps in Nepal, Bhutan and Ghana. The Tej Kohli & Ruit Foundation is a restricted fund operating under the auspices of Prism The Gift Fund, registered UK charity number 1099682. The Foundation targets the #1 United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of reducing poverty by making large-scale surgical interventions to cure blindness at the grassroots in the developing world. All treatments are provided completely free, with 100% of the funding coming from Tej Kohli and the Kohli family.
