As the morning sun glistened over the green carpet of Kailasagiri Hill Park, the day appeared to be more exciting for the visually-impaired children and their parents for varied reasons.
Pepping up their spirit and bringing out the creative best in these children, L.V. Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI) organised an outdoor camp on Sunday for its patients who suffered from low vision to total blindness.
More than 50 children, accompanied by their siblings and parents, turned up for the fun-filled event.
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For those who got accustomed to darkness, it was a different experience altogether.
Six-year-old Anjana Smitha appeared to be busy sensing the objects that she touched. She suffered from acute congestive glaucoma and had lost her sight at birth.
“There were times when I used to lose control over my emotions and break down. Whenever I get frustrated, I close my eyes for a while and experience what my daughter goes through every moment. This way, I can relate to her far better and understand her pain,” says J. Sri Lakshmi, mother of Anjana Smitha.
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More than the unusual bonding, what appears to be interesting is the kind of network the parents form to vent out their feelings.
“When people like us meet, we realise that we are not left alone in the world,” says A. Srinivas Kumar, a parent.
Tug of war, paper sticking, and sand beats engaged the visually-impaired children during the camp that was conducted from 10.30 a.m. to 4.30 p.m.
This is the fourth consecutive year the LVPEI has taken up the initiative of treating its past and present patients to a series of fun-filled events.
“The idea is to bring the visually-challenged children and their parents and siblings on one platform and treat them on a par with the mainstream. We wanted to create an opportunity for the parents to connect with one another and share inputs on dealing with the children suffering from varying degrees of blindness,” says Virender Sachdev, paediatric ophthalmologist.