Hsin Ch’i - Ch’i , a 12th century Chinese poet wrote,“ To what can we liken human life ? Perhaps to

a wild swan’s footprints on mud or snow before it flies off at random, east or west …….”. In the deep of winter, we find ourselves face to face with the fragility of life. True, but to leave “ a wild swan’s footprints” behind us to leave a memory of beauty

one present and never to be duplicated again.

LIVE FOR ETERNITY!

What footprint will your life leave?Have you made it yet?

According to WHO ,

284 million people are visually impaired in the world. ¼ th of the world’s total visually impaired population is INDIAN Which means 4.6 million – total number of sightless people in India.

Why Eye Donation ?

Corneal blindness is curable through corneal transplantation. That means corneally blind can actually start seeing if their cornea is replaced.

Give my eyes to a man who has never seen a sunrise , a baby’s face, or love in the eyes of a woman ………The greatest blessing comes from giving sight to a blind person. It is very difficult to imagine the world of a person who can't see. God has blessed all of us with eyes , but some times less fortunate people do not see through them…… but for some there is a ray of hope and

this hope comes from ‘EYE DONATION’ Eye Donation is done by people who donate their eyes

after their death.This act of charity costs nothing but gives immense satisfaction and joy and the blessings are divine.

September 8th , National Eye Donation Day.

The staff (Teaching / Non teaching ) of S.D.N.G.H.S was sensitized about Eye Donation – a priceless gift !Eye live for Eternity! was proposed to be the project to mark the ‘Week of Giving’- from 19th to 24th September 2011

To sensitize the society towards the noble donation, teachers and students of Sardar Dastur Nosherwan Girls’ High School consulted a team of Doctors at Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital, Pune, to convey the interest of the school in undertaking the

campaign -Eye Live For Eternity!!

Eyes , lovely lamps – windows of the soul –where lies the Paradise !

Preparation Phase –I : Enlightenment

A team of two teachers and four students visited the ‘Eye OPD’ of Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital on 9th of September, 2011.

The student-teacher group of S.D.N.G.H.S interacted with a team of doctors regarding eye donation. It was a very informative session , where the queries of the students were enthusiastically answered by the doctors. The doctors informed that there is a vast gap between the demand and supply of cornea which is certainly due to lack of awareness among the citizens. Therefore they appreciated the effort being taken by the students of Dastur to sensitize the society.

Preparation Phase –II :Interaction

A team of doctors visited S.D.N.G.H.S on 15th of September to conduct an awareness programme at the Mazda Hall. In this programme students gained knowledge about corneal transplantation with the help of a slide show. Students comprehended different facts pertaining to eye donation like - Who can donate ? Under, what conditions ? At what age? What precautionary measures to be undertaken for healthy eyes? etc… Thus the seminar was a preparation for the campaign – ‘Eye Live For Eternity !’ – to be undertaken during the ‘Week of Giving’ ,i.e., between 19th to 24th September 2011.

Preparation Phase –III: Seminar

JOY OF GIVING WEEK19th of Sept.

GIFT OF SIGHTThe teachers’ of Dastur Girls’ spoke to their respective classes and distributed forms (Eye Donor Pledge Form) which was required to be filled by the donor.Through this the school aimed to sensitize

about 900 families .

20th of Sept

Our Girls sensitized not only their family members but also their relatives and other

members of the society .

GIFT OF SIGHT

21st Sept. GIFT OF SIGHT

As part of the campaign ‘Eye Live For Eternity!’ Teachers and students of Dastur Girls visited the Head of the sister concern institutions, - The Primary, The Boys’, The Co-ed & The Junior College. Efforts were taken to motivate them to undertake a similar drive to create an awareness among their students.

SARDAR DASTUR HORMAZDIAR JUNIOR COLLEGE

The students of the Junior College were sensitized about eye donation. About 600 forms were distributed after an interactive session.

22nd Sept. GIFT OF SIGHT

23rd Sept. GIFT OF SIGHT

The staff members of The Primary School were sensitized towards Eye Donation and 60 forms were distributed.

24th Sept. The non-teaching staff from all the sister concern

institutions were called for an interactive session , where importance of eye donation was explained through a skit.

The Principal and the staff of Sardar Dastur Nosherwan Girls’ School filling the eye donation form.

The beautiful member can behold the earth, and in a moment view things as high as heaven…….

Stephen Charnock In order to bring about an awareness and set an example , Our respected Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh And Mrs. Singh took a pledge to donate their eyes.

The couple said in a joint statement “We are aware that there are innumerable cornea-blind patients in our country, for whom the gift of sight will be a priceless one. We hope that people across the country will rise to the occasion and support the National Programme for Control of Blindness and help their fellow brothers.”

MESSAGE

We realized, that out of 1.5 crore blind in India ,corneally blind are 20% i.e, 30 lakh people are actually those who can start seeing if

their cornea is replaced. Though there are efforts being made to create an awareness, there are a few hiccups like superstitions, fear factors, religious beliefs which act as hurdles. There is indeed much scope in eliminating such social stigmas. It is just a matter of belief and the timely action thus taken, will definitely bring a change in the mindset of people to accept the fact___That cornea cannot be manufactured, so it is only human beings who can donate…….

FEEDBACK

ConclusionThe initiative taken by Dastur Girls’ in sensitizing the society towards ‘Eye Donation’ could perhaps be ‘the drop which would set the bowl of goodness to flow to dispel darkness and bring a ray of hope.’We sensitized more than 1000 families and got approximately 200 people who pledged their eyes in one go. If more efforts are taken to create an awareness more people will respond positively. THUS LIFE WILL BE PASSED ON!!

SO WHEN ARE YOU PLEDGING YOUR EYES??????????

Thank you