Slumdog opens world's eyes to Mumbai's battle with blindness

THEY have charmed the world with their exploits on the big screen while throwing light on the squalid conditions which they have to endure.

The Danny Boyle film, Slumdog Millionaire, starring British actor Dev Patel (orphan Jamal) and Freida Pinto (Latika), swept the board at last weekend's Academy Awards for its gritty portrayal of life, death and romance in some of the most deprived urban areas on Earth.

Now the slum children of Dharavi, whose lives were the focus of the multiple Oscar winning movie, are to benefit from a $1m (£700,000) eye care programme.

Although Slumdog Millionaire is a compelling love story, it does not shy away from the reality of the grim existence of slum dwellers in India's biggest cities. One of the biggest problems is lack of health care services in the twisting alleyways of the sprawling slums in which up to one million people live without running water or basic sanitation. Among those is eye care and simple long or short sight, which can have a devastating effect on both children and adults and yet is easily remedied.

Heading the $1m programme to improve eye care is British charity Sightsavers International, which will use the money – from the UK-based Standard Chartered Bank – to prevent cases of avoidable blindness in slums like Dharavi. The money has been donated to the Mumbai Eye Care Campaign by the bank as part of its community investment programme Seeing is Believing. More than one million people will be screened over the next five years to pick up the refractive errors that lead to deteriorating eyesight.

The focus will be on bringing eye care to the most vulnerable groups, such as women and children. The project will also target people with a low socio-economic status such as rickshaw and taxi drivers, construction workers and domestic helpers.

Refractive errors are the second leading cause of blindness in India. Approximately 1.4 million people in India are effectively blind for the lack of a pair of glasses, even though they cost only around £1.50 to provide.

Joanna Conlon, Standard Chartered Bank's Seeing Is Believing Programme Manager, said: "Avoidable blindness is a major problem in the developing world. It is also an economic issue, depriving those affected of education and a job, and often rendering them economically dependent."

The Mumbai Eye Care Campaign will eventually involve spending $20m, benefiting 20 million people in 20 cities by 2015. Elizabeth Kurian, Regional Director of Sightsavers India, said: "The global success of Slumdog Millionaire has brought the reality of daily life in the urban areas such as Dharavi to the world's attention. The Mumbai Eye Care Campaign will bring fast and long-lasting benefits and services to as many as one million of Mumbai's less well off individuals.

Sightsavers' work in India, which started in 1966, has supported the treatment of millions of people with eye disorders and brought eye services to some of the least served areas of the country.

Sightsavers has been supporting a pilot project in Dharavi, Asia's largest slum located in central Mumbai, since 2008. Dharavi is home to more than one million people, including 300,000 children and the vast majority of people lack access to the most basic services such as clean water and sanitation.

Slumdog Millionaire won eight Oscars, including the award for best film. The movie cost about £7m to make and has since made more than 10 times that amount at box offices worldwide. More than £120m has been grossed by the film at the box office worldwide so far.

Life is already improving for the families of the child stars from Dharavi, who starred in the film.

Azharuddin Ismail, 10, and Rubina Ali, 8, returned to the slums just days after collecting the film's Best Picture award. Rubina blew kisses to the crowd. Neighbours had put on a party for Azharuddin but the planned celebrations turned into chaos as hundreds turned up to see them.

Last Tuesday, Mumbai's housing body announced it was giving the two families a flat each for making the country proud.