This project transforms whole communities in rural India by building vision clinics and training young women as Certified Ophthalmic Paramedics. Each paramedic returns home to provide care to 3,000 rural residents a year in Uttar Pradesh, India's poorest state. They also mentor other women and girls and are a great source of pride for their families. Combating blindness and low vision brings children school success, more opportunities for workers, and a higher quality of life for the elderly.
Women in rural India face limited access to professional training, high rates of unemployment, and low wages. India is also home to almost 40 million people suffering with blindness, over 80 percent of it preventable. A shortage of vision care services and trained personnel is particularly acute in rural areas. Blindness and low vision limits children's success in school, reduces workplace safety and productivity, and erodes the freedom and quality of life of the elderly.
The women trained to work in our clinics return to their home communities, resulting in transformative buy-in of the essential vision care they offer. Clinic staff educate their neighbors, many of whom don't know their vision is treatable. They also serve as role models, often support multiple generations of their families, and pay for the education of younger siblings. By investing in the careers of women while combatting blindness, we transform the wellbeing of whole communities.
With our innovative model, the Jiti Foundation achieves three goals simultaneously: increasing access to vision care to the underserved, empowering young women by training them for a stable career, and expanding income and employment opportunities in high poverty rural communities. The women trained to be Certified Ophthalmic Paramedics are changing the narrative of what a girl can be, shaping hearts and minds for generations of young women after them.
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