Organisation: Operation Eyesight
Location: India
Photographer: Neil Oakshot

In places where Operation Eyesight operates, having healthy vision in children has immediate societal benefits because the children play an important role in the family and community.  

Photographer Neil:

"I like the fact that we were shown that classroom…at random…and it was full for students, and from the doorway where I took the photo there was a direct line of sight to her, and I think that not only was she the only one wearing glasses but she was perfectly framed in the classroom for the subsequent photo. We didn’t have to position her, light her or create the composition…it was totally natural. Serendipitous. 

She had a lovely smile. She looked at us at first as did all the others, and then whilst I fiddled with the camera and took some test shots everyone just carried on listening to the teacher and then when we were ready I just waved at her and smiled and she smiled back…and then I took the photo. Again, she was totally natural and seemed very mature.  

We had just come from a large eye clinic and brought to the school just to get see if we could get some shots. Our goal was to find some students and choreograph a shot with them, ask them some questions etc. It was a large school and we arrived 10 minutes before their break…lunch I think…so in fact the only thing we achieved with the visit was this scene. No children were being screened at the time…I think it was a “let’s see what we find” kind of location. 

I was there with a couple of representatives from Operation Eyesight, and my cameraman colleague, Miguel Gutierrez, and we both had cameras. We met someone from the school who looked into a couple of classrooms and let us in. We had about 5 minutes before the bell went off for lunch so we just looked in the first classroom, stood close to the doorway and this is what we got.  

For this project we filmed in Kenya and India. We filmed the young and the old…the most vulnerable groups of course. I was particularly struck by the important role that children have in educating and supporting their families. In countries like Canada we tend to consider healthy eyesight as primarily a benefit to the recipient only….”you need glasses”…so I ensure my children have can study properly and enjoy life like everyone else.  

But in places where Operation Eyesight operates, having healthy vision in children has immediate societal benefits because the children play an important role in the family and community.  

They work around the house, in the yard, they feed the animals or help out in the fields. They go for food, and they care for the elders in multi-generational households. In Kenya, where trachoma is a big problem, the children learn about clean water and they go home and educate THEIR parents on the importance of clean water. The young are literally the teachers. 

So the community-led initiatives that we filmed, and the “hand-up, not hand-out’ approach of organizations like Operation Eyesight was extraordinary to film. These are huge community efforts (and communal living in these countries involves far more inter-dependence then here), and there was genuine pride at all levels when a cataract operation succeeded, or when a child got glasses. Because now these people were no longer burdens that needed constant help. They could now contribute. It’s literally a 100% reversal in fortune for the the person, their families and the community. "