Tiny Faces Light Up with New Spectacles: R-CAG Brings Vision to Deprived Tribal Children in Udaipur

Udaipur-  In a heartwarming initiative, the Rajasthan Child Advisory Group (R-CAG) today distributed specially prescribed spectacles to visually impaired children from the Kalbelia community of Leelavas village, Jhadoal. The event, held at the Vivekanand Auditorium of the Gayatri Seva Sansthan in Hiran Magri, marked a significant step towards integrating these children into the mainstream.

The Kalbelia community in Leelavas has long been involved in waste picking and recycling, contributing significantly to cleanliness and environmental conservation. However, their large family sizes have led to persistent challenges like food scarcity, malnutrition, illiteracy, and a lack of access to healthcare, particularly for children with vision impairments.

A few days ago, R-CAG intervened, bringing the issues faced by the children and their families to the attention of state government ministers and senior officials. Following this advocacy, the village received a 'Maa Baadi' (Anganwadi Centre) facility, and the children were taken for check-ups at the Maharana Bhupal Hospital in Udaipur.

During these examinations, specialists identified an urgent need for specific numbered spectacles for the children, which were not available through government hospital stocks.

R-CAG President and social worker Chandragupt Singh Chauhan stated, "During our visit to the village, we discovered several critical issues. We are committed to following up on Leelavas until all children are integrated into the mainstream."

Dr. Shailendra Pandya, Secretary-General of R-CAG and former member of the Rajasthan State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, explained the process. "The specialists recommended special glasses to treat vision impairment alongside malnutrition. When these were unavailable at the government hospital, philanthropists Dr. Rahul Vyas, Himmat Soni, and Prem Charan arranged for them."

The joy was palpable as the children put on their glasses and saw the world clearly. A young girl named Khushi (which means 'happiness') was overjoyed, hugging her father tightly.

Moved by the effort, philanthropist Himmat Soni announced a commitment to sponsor free eye check-ups and spectacles for 100 more children.

The event was attended by R-CAG officials and social workers Pradeep Rawani, Sunita Rathore from Samidha Sansthan, Research Officer Ashok Malviya, Kuntal Joshi, Sunil Paliwal, Arogya Shekhar Vyas, Arun Sharma, Dilip Damami, Madan Lal, Nitin Paliwal and Aashita Jain from Gayatri Seva Sansthan, along with the children's parents.

R-CAG has reaffirmed its commitment to work alongside the government to support the holistic development and 'kaya kalp' (transformation) of Leelavas village.