Give the Gift of Sight to the poor in India

Dear friends,

This spring, the Aravind Eye Foundation traveled to India to visit our colleagues at the Aravind Eye Care System.  It was a jam-packed two weeks – in Madurai, we met with Dr. Usha and every member of Aravind’s retinoblastoma team – experts in treatment and research for this devastating childhood eye cancer. We went to Pondicherry and heard about plans to screen 500,000 school children for vision problems.   And, we met many patients who have benefited from your generosity and concern. 

One day above all sticks in my mind.  It started with a celebratory meeting with Dr. Usha – we had just completed a successful fundraising campaign to fully equip the genetic testing lab.  We were feeling pretty proud of ourselves! 

My next stop was a visit to the children’s ward within the cancer clinic. There were several kids of various ages receiving follow-up chemotherapy.  And, there was a beautiful five-month-old baby girl, whose parents had brought her in that morning. The family was devastated and confused to learn that their only daughter had eye cancer.  She had to be treated immediately, or she would lose her eyes and possibly her life.  Worst of all, her parents had no idea how they were going to pay for it.

I left that room feeling miserable and thinking about my own healthy children at home.

Later that day, Dr Usha came rushing through the hall and grabbed my arm.  She said they had convinced the parents to go through with surgery and that she was going to operate the next morning. “And, thanks to the Aravind Eye Foundation,” she said, “All her treatment will be free.” 

It is really thanks to you – our donors – that the baby received the care that she needed.  You are part of the Aravind team, helping rid the world of needless blindness.   Thank you for your generous support!

Donna Campbell, Executive Director, Aravind Eye Foundation

"Intelligence and capability are not enough. There must be the joy of doing something beautiful."
From the journals of Dr. Govindappa Venkataswamy, founder of Aravind Eye Care Systems. 

Links:

• Learn more about Aravind's programs for childhood eye cancer.

Rajameenakshmi attends Virudhunagar Hindu Nadar Primary School in Madurai, not far from the famous Meenakshi Amman temple.  She's nine years old and wants to be an engineer.  She's also a serious carrom player, which looks like a combination of checkers and table shuffleboard to the uninitiated.  

Ten-year-old Mohammed is a student at VHN, too.  He loves cricket and drawing.  When he grows up, he's going to be a district collector -- that's the chief adminstrator for district government.  A very important job! 

Both children have big plans and are working hard in school to get good grades.  But three months ago, they were having trouble with some of their schoolwork.  Why?  They couldn't see the blackboard clearly. 

That's when Aravind's Spectacles for Scholars team came to their school, and tested the students' eyesight -- about four percent of the class needed eyeglasses, including Rajameenakshmi and Mohammed.  Now they are back on track to fulfill their dreams.

Last year, Aravind screened 500,000 school children and provided 15,000 glasses to children with poor eyesight -- thanks in part to your donations.  A pair of eyeglasses costs about 450 rupees -- a little over $7 -- but no one can put a price on being able to see!   And, we're just getting started -- with your help, we are planning to screen 5 million children by 2020. 

Thank you from all of us at the Aravind Eye Foundation for your generous and thoughtful support.  Please contact us if you would like to know more about the Spectacles for Scholars programs or if you have comments or suggestions.  We always want to hear from our friends.

With gratitude,

Donna Campbell, Exectutive Director, Aravind Eye Foundation

P.S.  Please enjoy this video about Spectacles for Scholars and meet Mohammed and Rajameenakshmi! 

Links:

• Aravind's Spectacles for Scholars