Projects

Vision Spring, in association with Amalgamated Plantations and APPL Foundation, conducted a vision screening program for the estate workers of three plantations in Dibrugarh, Assam. VisionSpring screened more than 4,000 tea estate workers and allied tea plantation populations with the objective of making the tea estate a refractive error free zone. The vision camps revealed a refractive error rate of more than 80%, i.e. more than 80% of the population screened had a vision problem which could be corrected with a pair of eyeglasses.

A medical outreach program, initiated in 1992, has been revived in the North Bank area of Assam in the last financial year. With only a small number of PHCs and specialist hospitals in this region, village communities have limited access to quality medical care. A state-of- the-art ambulance, donated by State Bank of India in August 2016, and a medical team, led by the doctor of Hattigor Tea Estate, reaches out to the village folk inhabiting this area, who are in desperate need of medical attention.

Important Facts:

Mental Disorders contribute 13% of global burden of worldwide disease. Three-fourths of the burden occurs in lower and middle income countries. Most Low and Middle income countries have little or no access to proper care especially the marginalised population. The biggest challenge with mental health care is the stigma associated with it. Mental disorders affect about 25 million people in India- 1 in 4 people will have a mental disorder at some point in life.

APPL entered into a “Project” titled, “Productivity Study of Presbyopes Engaged in Rural Agriculture (PROSPER A)” with Vision Spring. The project is a Randomized Control Trial (RCT) to assess the impact of near vision correction on the productivity of presbyopic Pluckers in three APPL Estates, measured by weight and quality of tea picked. The Project collected data for APPL workers and analysed the impact of presbyopia. The project was executed in Kellyden, Sagmootea and Nonoi Tea Estates in Assam.

Caring for women and children of the tea tribe community is one of the prime focus areas of APPL Foundation. Project Sambhuya is an initiative to build a robust maternal and infant care system at the tea garden hospital. APPL Foundation partnered with SAATHI to implement Project Sambhuya which adopts a multipronged approach to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality in the Tea Gardens.

The Vocational Training Centre of Damdim in North Bengal was started in the year 1995 with the objective to provide skills training to physically challenged individuals on the estate and in its neighboring areas. This initiative was launched with the intention to ensure that all individuals have equal opportunity to sustainable livelihoods. Till 2013-14, training was primarily provided at the centre for stationery making.

Adult Literacy Programme was implemented with the aim to impart functional literacy to young mothers whose children are attending crèche and lower primary school, in order to help them engage in their child’s learning. The teaching software for this programme has been donated by Tata Consultancy Services and proof of project’s success is in the enthusiastic response of the women, who after working in the tea gardens come to learn to read at 7pm, every other evening.

Important Fact:

Facilitating social transformation and sustainability on the tea estates through a phased upgradation programme.

APPL Foundation’s initiative for the promotion of indigenous art and culture has prompted an innovative approach that focuses on the unique cultural heritage of the tribal communities of the tea gardens.

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