Project Prakash (www.projectprakash.org) will continue its mission of providing free life-changing sight surgeries to children in some of the poorest villages of India. Over the years, Project Prakash has screened more than 40,000 children and provided more than 500 surgeries to children.
India shoulders the greatest burden of the planet's 1.3 million blind children in developing countries. Most children stay untreated due to scant medical facilities and the belief that beyond the first few years, interventions are futile. An estimated 200,000 to 700,000 people are affected.
Project Prakash has been working since 2005 at the very grassroots of India, in hundreds of villages, connecting children to the most sophisticated treatment available and building awareness of treatable and preventable blindness. Prakash provides sight treatment free of cost at Dr. Shroff's Charity Eye Hospital in Delhi, ensuring the highest standards of care and science.
Lack of treatment has devastating consequences. Over 90% of the affected children are unable to obtain an education and fewer than 50% survive to adulthood. More than 80% are unemployed as adults. For blind girls, the outlook is even more dire. 75% of girls with disabilities suffer physical or sexual abuse.
