The two foundations are joining efforts to increase the earning capacity of marginalized producers and workers through the distribution of eyeglasses.
VisionSpring has announced that they will be working with Fair Trade Forum India to provide eyecare to 50,000 weavers and artisans across India. The collaboration was announced during the 2nd Leadership Exchange on Public and Private Partnerships for Clear Vision India, which brought more than 50 NGOs, companies, and government officials to Delhi to discuss the need for eyeglasses in India and full scope of the problem and the economic burden it puts on the nation, exchanging ideas and strategising solutions.
K. J. Alphons, IAS (Rtd.), Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha, and former Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Tourism was a special guest.
Anshu Taneja, Country Director for India, VisionSpring said, “The partnership with Fair Trade Forum – India builds upon the more than 5 million eyeglasses VisionSpring has distributed to low-income communities in India since our work started here in 2005.”
VisionSpring’s See to Earn program addresses both near vision and far vision impairment, but because the condition of presbyopia (blurry near vision) collides with the age when people are at the peak of their artistry and the mastery of their craft, a simple pair of reading glasses can extend the productivity and increase the earning capacity for much of India’s 70 million artisans and micro entrepreneurs.