Srikala came to one of the health camps regularly conducted by Child Eye Care Charitable Trust in the community of Valnai, Orlem.  She was informed about the camp by one of the community health workers (CHW) working in the area. Srikala had complaints of redness and irritation of eyes since the past 5 days, but had not sought any medical care for her eyes. She said that she had no time to go to a doctor as she worked as a maid in the nearby buildings in the area. Her husband was also a daily wage worker at a construction site. Going to the doctor meant losing a day’s wages. Her only son did not care for her and had no time to take his mother to a doctor as he did not want to spend his hard earned money of her treatment. She was almost in tears as she expressed her sorrow to the CHW and the attending doctor.

Srikala diagnosed with acute conjunctivitis

Srikala was diagnosed with acute conjunctivitis. She was prescribed with antibiotics and anti-inflammatory eye drops and advised on maintaining eye hygiene by washing her eyes with clean water at repeated intervals. She was asked to follow up in five days. When Srikala came after five days her eyes were clear and there was no redness and watering. She thanked the CHW and the doctor at the community center with folded hands for restoring her eyes to normal. Even though Srikala was cured of her eye ailment, the problem of neglect that she faced at home continued.

It was then decided to motivate Srikala to enrol into a micro skills course, conducted by the community center at Valnai, where she would be taught to prepare candles, incense sticks and other such articles. Initially Srikala was reluctant as she thought she would not be able to learn anything new due to her old age, but the CHWs and Supervisors from the community center persisted and Srikala started attending the micro skills class thrice a week. 

Through the skills learnt at the course, Srikala started preparing candles and incense sticks after her work as a maid. With guidance from the Community center team, Srikala then started selling these items at the local bazaar which was close to the nearby church. Her candles and incense sticks soon became popular among the local people and she started getting bulk orders from her regular customers. Srikala needed help to make these orders so she motivated her daughter in law, a house wife, to help her with the purchase of materials and in preparing the articles. The CHWs then motivated Srikala to open a bank account which would help her save her profits and invest wisely for her future.

Today Srikala has employed ten more women from the community who help her in making the candles and incense sticks. She has in turn also motivated these women to open bank accounts to save for themselves and their children. Since Srikala is now self employed and does not have to financially depend on her husband or son, she is respected and sought advice from in all matters of running the household.

Today Srikala is thankful to the team at the community center for not only providing her with timely eye care but also for restoring her self confidence and making her a self reliant person.