“The Community Health project saved my eyesight” – Gopal (Case Study)

Gopal (left) with his wife (centre) and Ganesh (Mumbai Smiles Field Coordinator)

Name: Gopal Raghu Pared (47 years old)

Gopal Pared is a 47 year old man living with his family that includes his wife and 3 children. He stays at Saibangoda area (the tribal area near Andheri East) and is the third generation living here. Due to poor financial situation, he couldn’t complete his education and got addicted to alcohol, as a child!

Currently working as a watchman in a private company, he manages to earn Rs.8000 per month. This makes it near impossible for him to provide education, food and medical support to his family of five people; but they get by somehow.

For last few months he had been having issues with his vision but didn’t have enough money to go get it checked properly. However, one day he was able to get in touch with the Community Health project team while they were mobilising the Sangharshnagar tribal slum area, to come for the free Eye check up camp and finally Gopal found a way to get his eyes checked. He recalls the day he came to know about Mumbai Smiles, “I met Asha Jadhav, who is a Preschool teacher at Mumbai Smiles in our area only and she told me about the free eye check up camp. And it was at this camp that the doctors checked my eyes and informed me of my diagnosis. I had Cataract in both my eyes.”

After this eye health camp, the Community Health project team conducted an awareness sessions of a number of meetings with cataract patients and their families where they were counselled about the causes, symptoms and treatment of cataract. “Thanks to the counselling sessions, we realised that my eyesight can be saved and it isn’t a permanent disease if we go ahead with the surgery. And thanks to Mumbai Smiles and their partners, I and other fellow community members of mine could get the surgery done. Today, my vision is perfect and throughout the process of the treatment; I never faced any problem at all. The project team was very, very cooperative and helped me and my family through the entire step of the surgery and afterwards, with check-ups also. I am very thankful to Mumbai Smiles and its Community Health project team that saved my eyesight. I am the only breadwinner of my family and they have done a huge favour to me and my family!”

We wish you all the very best with your future and hope that you and your family have a healthy life ahead!