Empower women in rural India to combat blindness

Hello everyone, we hope that your 2024 has started off with warmth and joy!

We are excited to share with you some exciting updates about our plans for this year. As you know, because of your support we have been able to provide scholarships to many different young women over the years for their education to become Certified Ophthalmic Paramedics (COP), through an excellent training program run by our community partner in India, Dr. Shroff’s Charity Eye Hospital. After they receive this education, these newly-trained professionals then go on to serve a vital role in delivering eye care services in community clinics and hospitals in high-need areas. These newly-trained COPs are filling a crucial gap in the system. In the densely populated states where Dr. Shroff’s works such as Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Rajasthan, healthcare density ratios are far below national averages. This, combined with the fact that Uttar Pradesh and Delhi have the highest rates of sight-disadvantaged persons in India, means that the need for expertly trained vision health professionals remains exceedingly urgent.

The COP training program has been incredibly successful in preparing young women from low socio-economic backgrounds to meet these healthcare needs. At this juncture, more work is now needed to strengthen the post-placement career pathways to ensure that all of these excellently trained young women can remain active professionally and reach the communities in need. Thus, the Jiti Foundation will be supporting a newly-created Placement Officer role, of which the main responsibility will be to build relationships with eye clinics and hospitals to secure job opportunities for the young women who complete the COP training. In addition, this role will help prepare candidates for their job interviews, and will also help inform the training curriculum with highly sought-after skills and content identified by clinics and hospitals, increasing the employability of all trainees. We will also be supporting an additional component of the training program to include a life skills curriculum, with topics such as Self Awareness, Goal Setting, Decision Making, Values Identification, Critical Thinking, Positive Communication, and more. Most of these young women will be entering into their first formal employment opportunities by working in these hospitals and clinics. These essential and empowering life skills, in addition to their accredited COP training and job placement support, help set up these young women for a long and thriving career in addressing and preventing needless blindness! 

It is very exciting to be partnering with Dr. Shroff’s in order to put these new objectives in place, and we are so motivated by the impact we will create together with supporters like you. With your donation, we can amplify the impact of these services to more young women! Will you join us by making a gift today? 

Thank you for your care and commitment to this important work!