Newsletter 02 2006.pdf - Sight and Life

SIGHT AND LIFE 34
NEWSLETTER 2/2006
public places in the villages. It
is very effective and people are
interested in participating in such
meetings.
A new method of awareness
campaigning is carried on in the
districts of Guntur and Krishna. In
this the local NGOs have formed
into a committee and engaged a
motor vehicle with all our slogans,
symbols of vitamin A deficiency
and eye care which moves from
village to village. The local leaders
in the villages have taken on
the responsibility of spreading the
messages.
Vegetable gardens
This is an innovative method to
ensure that vegetables with a
rich carotenoid content, including
green leafy vegetables, are made
available to people in the local
markets. For this we have given
some assistance to women farmers
and women’s self-help groups
to grow vegetables with more
provitamin A. This is a revolving
fund and the partner NGOs will
be revolving this money among
the women’s groups. This has
proved very successful in some
districts, like Chittoor, Prakasam
and Guntur.
PEEC’s sister organization, the
Rural Development Society, distributes
vegetable seeds as part
of the kitchen gardens scheme
for better nutrition among children.
This program is linked with
vitamin A deficiency prevention.
Thousands of families are given
the vegetable seeds which they
plant in kitchen gardens around
their houses and use for food.
So this is also indirectly supporting
the eradication of vitamin A
deficiency.
Resource materials
Wall posters are prepared and
printed. These are distributed
to the partner NGOs for display
on the walls of public places to
highlight the message. This is
very informative and people are
very enthusiastic about it.
Handbills are distributed to the
public in the villages during festivals,
holidays etc. They are very
effective. Social workers, doctors
and paramedical staff appreciate
them as they are another form of
information material.
The “SIGHT AND LIFE Guidebook
on Vitamin A in Health and
Disease” was translated into the
local language (Telugu), printed
and distributed to local leaders,
teachers, social workers etc.
through NGOs. This book has
been well received and needs to
be reprinted to meet demand.
Tsunami assistance
Emergency relief measures were
carried out in four districts. The
relief materials distributed during
the disaster period consisted
of food grains like rice and dhal;
aluminum pots for selling fish;
dress materials for saris and
dhotis; towels, blankets and
utensils; and educational materials
like note books, slates etc. for
schoolchildren. The aid included
calcium tables and safe drinking
water containers. This covered
440 families altogether and 420
children benefited. The tsunami
victims expressed their gratitude
to SIGHT AND LIFE for the help
in the emergency.
Conclusion
On the whole, the program is
continuing successfully and no
major difficulties are faced. Many
NGOs are interested in participating
and they are asking us to hold
meetings every three months.
The vitamin A capsules are very
attractive and many NGOs want
to receive more, but we are not
able to supply them because the
stock is very limited. The government
is not issuing the permission
necessary to import the
vitamin A capsules donated by
SIGHT AND LIFE. The products
available in the medical stores
are not comparable and are very
expensive. PEEC wants to reach
even more people in Andhra
Pradesh but due to financial and
resource restrictions this is not
always possible.