Lawrence & Mayo (L&M) has anno n unced their association with Virag Wankhede’s ‘Roshni Zindagi Mein,’ a pan India campaign to increase awareness on the noble cause of eye donation – with two lakh cornea donations needed every year as against 20,000 cornea donations at present. It will also communicate that one call to universal number 1919 can help people contact the nearest eye bank and transform a life. On the occasion, Vivek Mendonsa (Founder & Marketing Director, L&M) and Virag Wankhede unveiled a video promo of the forthcoming album ‘Kaash’ focussed towards spreading the message in favour of eye donation.
‘Roshni Zindagi Mein’ is an initiative by Viraag’s Artist Trust, an NGO working towards educating, entertaining and engaging with audiences on social causes, through the medium of music and art. Commencing from mid July 2012, the ‘Roshni Zindagi Mein’ team including leading doctors from National Programme for the Control of Blindness (NPCB), a Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Govt. of India body, will travel across all the key districts in Pune and rest of Maharashtra, to spread the message on the urgent need for corneas in India as a mere 10 per cent of applications being met through current resources. As part of the campaign, schools and colleges will be roped in to participate in drawing contests centred around the ‘Eye Donation and Blindness theme.’ National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), National Programme for the Control of Blindness (NPCB), Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) and National Service Scheme (NSS) have extended their support to this campaign.
Vivek Mendonsa, Founder and MD of Lawrence & Mayo, said, “Responsible citizenship and Lawrence & Mayo have always gone hand-in-hand. As part of our community welfare programmes, we conduct multiple activities to raise awareness on prevention and treatment of loss of vision. We felt an instant connect with Guinness Record Holder Virag Wankhede’s noble objective behind the ‘Roshni Zindagi Mein’ campaign – to draw more cornea donations and bring light into lakhs of lives languishing without sight. Starting with Maharashtra, we plan to take this humble effort to the national level and bring about a sea change in people’s attitude to donating their eyes.”
Virag Wankhede of Virag’s Artist Trust added, “At Virag’s Artist Trust, our endeavour has been to reach out to people through music and art, which have a universal appeal. Through the ‘Roshni Zindagi Mein’ initiative, our prime endeavour is to break existing myths and increase response levels at the grassroot levels to the appeal for eye donation. Against an existing demand of 2,00,000 corneas, only 20,000 are being donated. Relying on music as the story telling medium, we want to highlight the helplessness and agony of the sightless, and convey the message that with one simple call to universal number 1919, one can contact the nearest eye bank and transform a life.”
EH News Bureau