The residents of Bakhariya, a village situated 25-30 km off Varanasi, comprises mainly of handloom weavers and farmers. Some families have livestock as well, which supplements their monthly household income.
However, Kamla Prasad and his family solely depended on his weaving skills for sustenance. He was a 45-year-old man who lived a content life with his wife and two children.
Life went on smoothly for the family until one day, he learns that his vision has become blurry! – this realisation hit him like a tonne of bricks. The craft of weaving demanded precise vision. Dejected and clueless, he took up unskilled jobs to feed the mouths at home. The monthly household income dropped to abysmal depths.
Notwithstanding the widespread prevalence of cataract in rural India, the risk of blindness is heightened through a lack of awareness regarding eye care and the general lower social-economic conditions.
Upon discovering Prasad’s plight during a door-to-door awareness campaign for cataract and eye health, a health worker Ms. Rayda Ansaari takes him to the free eye check-up camp in the nearby village, organized by CBM’s partner organisation St. Mary Eye Hospital.
He immediately underwent a cataract surgery and within months, he was reunited with his love – weaving.
The master is back at work, in better shape than ever. He now completes a beautiful Banarasi saree in 4 days and makes up to INR 9,000 to 10,000 monthly. He hopes to run his own handloom mill machine in future.
This would not have been possible without the steadfast support from CBM’s valuable partners.
