Dr. Indu Shahani , Mumbai Sheriff is the first volunteer for seshpath.org
THE FIRST WEBSITE TO CONNECT VISUALLY CHALLENGED STUDENTS & LOCATE VOLUTEERS
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Mumbai, 26thSept, 2012(Sachin Murdeshwar): Retina India, a national nonprofit trust, is proud to announce the launch of the first ever internet portal www.seshpath.org in India dedicated to helping visually challenged students locate volunteers, or scribes, as they are called, to assist them in their educational pursuits.
The portal aims to overcome the difficulties that such students face in getting a scribe for their exams. Both scribes and students can register on the portal, thus making it easy for all concerned to locate and reach out to one other, even at short notice. The site caters to other differently-abled individuals as well.
Speaking on the occasion of the launch, the Sheriff of Mumbai, Dr, Indu Shahani who is also the first volunteer reader to register on the portal, said, “I am delighted to be associated as a volunteer to this initiative, the students of our college will also be the first volunteers to www.seshpath.org”
Retina India Trustee Arvind Bhartiya, while describing the objectives and functionality of SeshPath.org, said, “ We find it very difficult to get volunteers to help visually impaired students, for this we need people who are forthcoming in helping out. The need of the hour is to cure your mind to cure your body, helping others is a way to cure your mind, so for this there has to be a mentality shift to go and help out. “ .”
Retina India is working on both clinical and social fronts, focused on making a difference in the country through supporting innovative research and development, as well as helping visually challenged people make a difference to their lives, said Behram Sethna, Retina India Trustee. We need to come together to help and support these visually challenged students in the country, said Meenakshi Jain, Trustee, Retina India. She encouraged everyone to support the cause in every way possible.
With India being home to the largest number of blind population in the world, a significant number of whom are children, seshpath.org aims to bridge a huge gap in assisting those who are keen on studying and attempting competitive examinations for schools and colleges.
Other dignitaries present on this occasion were Tech Mahindra Vice President HR C Krishnadas, Mamtha Sharma, Manager Corporate Citizenship & Corporate Affairs, IBM- India, and NASSCOM Foundation Associate Vice President Gauri Raverkar, all of whom lauded this first of its kind initiative in the country by Retina India.
Apart from the portal, Retina India also has a number of other initiatives primarily aimed at bringing patients, families, experts and researchers to a common platform to enable them to work more efficiently in finding a holistic solution.
About Retina India:
Retina India, a not for profit organization, is the first ever effort in India that is successfully empowering people with retinal disorders by bringing them on a common platform with physicians, researchers, counselors, low vision and mobility experts, and other specialists.
With a vision to spread awareness about retinal diseases in society, this novel effort aims to deliver the latest in eye care technology such as gene therapy, bionic eye and stem-cell treatment from around the world in order to benefit Indian patients.
In order to improve the overall quality of life for the visually impaired, Retina India is also focused on counseling on issues such as education, employment, marriage and rehabilitation.
Supported by a scientific advisory board comprising of leading retina specialists, an executive council with management and leadership expertise, an industrial advisory board comprising ophthalmic and pharmaceutical companies and an international advisory board comprising experts from outside the country, Retina India builds an alliance of patients and families with retina specialists to work towards a complete resolution of problems.
Retina India also informs patients about the latest research in India and worldwide while simultaneously providing assistance with education and jobs.
In order to reach out effectively to approximately 24 million blind people across the country, Retina India conducts various projects aimed at providing financial aid to the needy, runs free advisory email services, and also hosts a number of eye camps to screen and detect early symptoms of eye disorders.
It conducts a number of medico-social projects like round-table conferences in various cities, projects for inclusive education, hospital outreach programs where doctors set aside time for patients, and the scribes and readers project which aims to connect the visually impaired to writers catering for these differently abled people.
A unique effort, Retina India aims to foster social spirit and build an ecosystem, thereby making a difference in people’s lives.
Retina India is registered with the Charity Commissioner in Mumbai, India.
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