Dawoodi Bohra Community Launches Eye Health Programme for 20,000 Children

Kolkata, September 04, 2026: The Dawoodi Bohra community’s global philanthropic initiative, Project Rise, has launched the “Vision for Every Child” programme in partnership with CBM India Trust to provide eye health services to 20,000 schoolchildren across West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh.

The four-month programme will cover more than 30 government schools and include eye screenings, free spectacles for children who require them, specialist referrals and support for paediatric surgeries where further treatment is needed.

The initiative was formally inaugurated at the Burhani Complex at Topsia Road in Kolkata, followed by an initial screening camp at Sir Syed Ahmed High School. The programme will also provide preventive eye-health education to students and train more than 200 teachers to identify signs of possible visual impairment in the classroom.

The launch was attended by Sony Thomas, Executive Director, CBM India Trust; Tapas Roy, Deputy Superintendent of Police, West Bengal Police; Dr. Ratish Chandra Paul, Medical Director and Secretary, Susrut Eye Foundation and Research; Ashok Chaki, Secretary of Special Olympics, along with representatives of His Holiness Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin in Kolkata, doctors, teachers and members of the Dawoodi Bohra community.

Taher Totanawala, Project Rise coordinator for the Dawoodi Bohras of Kolkata, said, “A child should not fall behind in school because a treatable vision problem has gone unnoticed. His Holiness has consistently encouraged members of the Dawoodi Bohra community to contribute to the wellbeing of the societies in which they live, particularly through sustained work in health and education. Through this partnership, we hope children who need eye care are identified early and receive the support and treatment they need.”

Sony Thomas, Executive Director of CBM India Trust, said, “Screening is the first step. What matters is ensuring that a child who needs spectacles, specialist care or surgery receives it, along with the necessary follow-up. Vision for Every Child has been designed around this complete pathway of care. We are pleased to partner with Project Rise to bring these services closer to children in Howrah and Sehore.”

The programme is being implemented in schools including Khila Gopimohan Sikshaya Sadan, Talbandi Belayet Ali High School, Brahmampara Chintamani Institution, Nayachak Jadunath High School, Dafarpur Prabartak Vidyamandir, Liluah TRG Khemka School and Howrah Urdu Girls High School.

Mohtasheem Sulaiman, Principal of Sir Syed Ahmed High School, said, "Some of these children had been struggling to read the blackboard for a while, simply because no one had thought to get their eyes tested. Most of these conditions are quick to detect and easy to correct with a pair of spectacles, but without a screening programme like this, they can go unnoticed for longer than they should."

The initiative has been designed to align with the National Programme for Control of Blindness and Visual Impairment (NPCBVI) and Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK), with the aim of supporting continuity of eye-health interventions beyond the programme period.