Eye Camp, Nallamala Forest – March 2024

Our dedicated team of volunteers visited both new and familiar Chenchu villages during this series of eye camps. In the deep-forest village of Palutla, where we had last worked in 2019, the stone paths had been upgraded to mud roads. What was once a three hour journey took just two hours. People in Palutla still depend on their own cultivation for their livelihood; they raise cattle and have rural Anganwadi schools for their children’s education. They come out of the jungle once or twice a month in a lorry to purchase items for their daily needs (This aspect of life is similar to what it was two decades ago, as in this photo Harsha took in 1999). In Palutla, the Lokana team examined over 130 patients, distributing glasses, medicines, and identifying those needing further care including surgery.