Libby: the right to public health

Today, we visited an NGO that served the visually impaired. Immediately, I felt at home. As the daughter of a social worker whose focus was on developmental disabilities, I was constantly in community with those who live with disabilities. To this day it still amazes me how forgotten such people are in American society. I learned today that this issue also exists in India. I also learned that most people being served by this NGO became visually impaired due to some accident later in life (typically in their 20's and 30's). This is due to the lack of public health education in India. Many men go blind after an accident with fireworks or a car accident. They were not taught about the dangers of fireworks. This has really got me thinking about the right to public health education. Learning about the lack of such a useful tool to all is something I will take with me into my nursing career and will hopefully help to shape how I interact with my future patients and fellow nurses.