LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

For Glaucoma

It is with great disappointment that I write this letter.

On Friday the 18th of May I went to a poetry recital by Prof Ashok Chakradhar. I’m a great fan of Prof Chakradhar just like many other Hindi lovers. His poems, as always, were heart warming and received a well deserved standing ovation. But I’m extremely sorry to write that the management by Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan (the host organisation) was below standard.

The show itself started an hour and a half late with no apologies coming forth till very late. The ambience, hospitality and event management was non-existent (two pathetic plastic tables without tablecloths, no water for guests on stage). The whole event (if you can call it that!) seemed to be put together in haste without any thought or love being put into it.

My personal apologies to Prof. Chakradhar on behalf of his fans. You deserved much better!

Swati Tiwari

Holsworthy, NSW

It pains me to see the rising burden of diseases related to vision loss in Indian community in Sydney. Glaucoma is one such disease of the eye in which the optic nerve is damaged in a particular pattern. The retina and optic nerve start degenerating and there is an increased pressure inside the eye. Glaucoma is also called the “silent thief of sight” because the loss of vision often occurs gradually over a long period of time, and symptoms only occur when the disease is quite advanced. A great number of seniors in northern areas of Sydney live with this chronic eye disorder. The severity of the disease increases with ageing. The estimated cost of Glaucoma in Australia is $3 billion per year. The numbers are expected to increase further in rich neighbourhoods where the ageing population is expected to increase further.

Sadly once lost, vision cannot normally be recovered and so treatment is exclusively aimed at preventing further loss. Globally, glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness after cataracts. Its prevalence can be gauged from the fact that this disease affects one in 200 people aged fifty and younger. Senior citizens above the age of 80 have higher than 10% incidence of glaucoma. If the condition is detected early enough, it is from the School Principal of the mainstream school of your child or can be downloaded from www.curriculumsupport. education.nsw.gov.au/secondary/ languages/sscl/Details 02 9886 7505 Saturdaycl-h.School@det. nsw.edu.au

Community health forum

Fri 22 Jun A community consultation forum sponsored by NSW Multicultural Health and aimed at building the health, energy and vitality of the Indian community, will be held at Hornsby Library Main Meeting Room, 28 – 44 George Street, Hornsby (Library entrance via Hunter Lane). 6.00 pm – 8.00 pm. All are welcome. Details Shantha Viswanathan 0422 082 608

Sydney Sakhi Sangam

Sun 24 June Sakhi Sangam will be held this year at the Croatian Club. Details Nandini 0423 684 340, Sushma 0411 967 374, Aruna 0410 338 900.

FUNDRAISER

Vision2020 Walkathon

Sun 15 July Sydney-based charity organisation Vision2020 announces a walkathon at the Lane Cove River National Park to raise funds for charity. The walk (Riverside Walking Track) is about

5km from end-to-end and 10km round trip. This is a family event and is suitable for people of all age groups and physical fitness.

It is not a competitive event. People can walk at their own pace. There is no requirement for participants to walk the full or even a minimum distance. The Walkathon is in support of the following charities: Sri Datta Bal Sevashram (home for healthy children of leprosy patients and the homeless); Nand Gokul (orphanage), and Sandya Deep (old age home for the people - under construction)all three managed by the Swami Vivekanand Kusta Seva Samithi Trust, Gulbarga, Karnataka. Details at www. vision2020.org.au

Light for Life Trivia Night

Sat 18 Aug Come and enjoy a fun filled night of trivia, with singing and dancing too… 7:00pm for a 7:30pm start, at Don Moore Community Centre, North Rocks. Tickets: $20 each, includes dinner. The event is a fundraiser for Lifehouse at RPA, a state-of-the art cancer centre that will incorporate clinical care, research and education into a single organisation. Details Swati Jain 0412 439 596 or swati86@ live.com.au possible to arrest the development or slow the progression with medical and surgical means. Therefore, my message is clear that-it is very important for the seniors in South Asian community to go for regular eye check ups especially after the age of 50.

Recent research at Macquarie University in North Ryde and other research centres across Australia has shown that flavanoids and their derivatives can prevent the retinal degeneration. Flavanoids are abundant in fruits and vegetables and exert many protective biological effects. Flavanoids are also protective against the detrimental effects of stroke and Parkinsons disease. These are antiinflammatory and also possess antioxidant properties. All these properties of flavanoids are protective for retina against various insults.

Therefore, scientific community is convinced that it is extremely important to have a steady intake of fresh fruits and vegetables which are a rich source of flavanoids and other protective compounds to keep our retina healthy and protect it from damage rendered by glaucoma.