The mission of Aurokiya Eye Center is bring preventative eye care and health education, to Auroville and the bioregion. Eye screening services which are not available anywhere else, are provided both in the center, and at Eye Screening Camps where Aurosugan, Shanthi, the lead eye technician, and Akshya, the junior technician, travel with portable screening equipment, to bring Aurokiya’s services where they are needed most.
Support Aurokiya Eye Center
Aurokiya’s Development Goals
72 year old Sarasu from Kottakarai Village has spent her adult life building Auroville. She worked on Matrimandir and in the Gardens for decades, spending her days in the bright sunlight. Now she is blind, unable to see the beauty of the gardens that she helped create. So she made her way to a recent eye camp conducted by Aurokiya. Sarasu has been blind for three years, and unable to access care due to challenges within her family. She has no health insurance or pension. At the eye camp, she was diagnosed with cataracts and taken for a free surgery that restored her sight. Within a week, the quality of her life was completely transformed.
Many local seniors in the Auroville bioregion like Sarasu have given their lives to building Auroville and are now suffering from blindness. Aurokiya is prepared to help, and with your support, we can bring light back into the lives of thousands of people, and preserve the vision of even more.
School Screening Programs
Vision impairment and blindness in children can have negative consequences on their health, education and prospects. But less than 10% of school children have their vision tested to identify and address potential issues. And widespread exposure to digital media has a profound effect on children’s vision. Mass school screening programs will help catch issues early so kids can go on with their education and self-development.
Mobile Eye Clinic
The mobile eye clinic is equipped with state-of-the-art ophthalmology facilities for diagnosis, investigation and treatment of patients in rural areas. With a custom-built mobile clinic, we can reach patients where they live and work. The Mobile Eye Clinic is fully equipped to take care of primary eye care, and can be taken to the remotest places to ensure quality eye care for all.
Scope of the Problem
One out of every three blind people in the world lives in India, a higher percentage than any other country. We estimate that over 50,000 people in the Auroville bioregion are suffering from some vision impairments. Cataracts are one of the major causes of vision impairment, affecting 66.2% in Indians over 50 years of age. Other common sight issues include refractive errors, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, and posterior segment problems. A comprehensive eye examination is necessary to find eye diseases in the early stages to prevent vision loss.
Eye problems lead to other problems, and restoring vision transforms a person’s entire life, enhancing self-reliance, freedom, and confidence. Older adults with vision impairment also have a higher risk for:
- Falls and injuries
- Social isolation
- Depression
- Reduced quality of life and daily functioning
- Trouble following instructions related to health and medicines
Early detection and appropriate treatment are critically important to prevent some common eye diseases from causing permanent vision loss or blindness. Around 80% of vision problems are avoidable, or even curable if detected early and treated with proper medical care. Regular eye screening through eye camps with a patient-centric approach can make a radical difference for the local economy and social structures.
Aurosugan’s Story
Aurosugan is a third generation Tamil Aurovilian. After graduating with degrees in Microbiology and a Master’s in Health Administration, he became the hospital administrator of Aravind Eye Hospital in Pondicherry. During his 12 years at Aravind, he received numerous awards and international recognition for his work.
In 2021 he founded Aurokiya Eye Care Center, after having spent the first part of the pandemic lockdowns as part of the COVID relief task force in Auroville and becoming deeply involved in the healthcare of Aurovilians and villagers.
Aurokiya Eye Care Center allowed him to bring his passion for preventative eye care and preventing blindness back to Auroville and the surrounding villages of Kottakarai, Kuilapalayam, Edayanchavadi and others. Aurosugan was deeply inspired by the work of Dr. Govindappa Venkataswamy, the creator of Aravind Eye Hospital. During his work at Aravind hospital he was inspired by the spirit of healthcare excellence and spiritual values of Dr. V’s work, and strived to bring this to his own work with Aurokiya.
The mission of Aurokiya Eye Center is bring preventative eye care and health education, to Auroville and the bioregion. Eye screening services which are not available anywhere else, are provided both in the center, and at Eye Screening Camps where Aurosugan, Shanthi, the lead eye technician, and Akshya, the junior technician, travel with portable screening equipment, to bring Aurokiya’s services where they are needed most.
Aurokiya’s accesibility, eye screening technology and use of electronic health records creates an easy pathway for both Aurovilians and villagers to quickly get a complete walk-in eye exam with cutting edge technology. The exam results are instantly read by doctors in the Aravind Eye Hospital network. An Aravind Eye Hospital ophthalmologist reviews the exam results directly with the patient during the Aurokiya Center appointment. Based on the findings of the exam, the patient is provided with reading glasses, eye drops or other vision remedies. If the patient requires a more in depth review, or surgery, they are immediately given an appointment at Aravind Eye Hospital.
Prevention of chronic eye problems like diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma, was Aurosugan’s initial reason for creating the advance streamlined eye care screening and referral systems. Diabetic retinopathy is a leading cause of blindness in India, a country with high rates of diabetes. Through accessible screening, diabetic retinopathy can be caught in its early stages, and steps can be taken to prevent the advance of the disease and saving vision.
As Aurokiya Eye Center was starting in 2020, a new type of eye care issue emerged. With extended screen and computer time, children under COVID lockdown were beginning to have undiagnosed vision problems. Aurokiya’s set-up turned out to be ideal for screening and educating children with vision problems, with the ability to provide full prescription reading glasses, with frames and lenses, with each appointment.
An update to our original event, Aurokiya has recently partnered up with VisionSpring, to provide eyeglasses for the school children in the area! An additional goals is to find an additional sponsor for adults eyeglasses.
AUROKIYA ON-SITE EYE SCREENING CAMPS
One of Aurokiya’s missions is to have on-site Eye Screening Camps in schools and workplaces. The Eye Screening Camps are designed to reach individuals who would not otherwise be ready for eye screenings. The portable screening equipment and pop-up booths make it possible to do complete eye exams in a variety of locations.
Aurosugan’s main focus is on schools, as reaching children is important not only for immediate vision check-ups. Working with children instills the importance of eye care at a young age. Kids are taught how to observe vision changes in themselves and how to detect vision problems in their parents and grandparents, including teaching kids a home cataract exam for their elders!