Sponsor eye surgery & eradicate blindness in India

Mr. Raman’s bleak and lonely world had begun to get dimmer. 61 year old Mr. Raman from Kathana village near Anand had been living alone since his wife’s demise a few years back ago. The couple did not have any children. It was upon him to make his living and manage his daily requirements well into old age. While earlier he deftly rolled scores of bidis at home with his nimble fingers, his deteriorating vision had now slowed him down considerably. He trudged on by relying more and more on his fingers. He realized he needed help but despite barely making his ends meet, his work was all he had. Seeking eye care was a distant dream for him.

Soon his calloused fingers couldn’t help him further and he lost his work. Depression gripped him as he spent his days in the darkness of unemployment and starvation. He soon took to begging for survival. One fine day a distant relative came to know of his condition.

He took Mr. Raman to the free outreach camp conducted by Sankara Eye Hospital, Anand in the nearby Kalu village. He had been suffering from cataract in both his eyes since a long time.

He meekly listened as he was counselled for his treatment, scarcely believing that help was so close at hand. Hours after the cataract surgery in his right eye, as the nurse revealed his dressing to tend to his eye, watching him with a suppressed smile, she saw realization finally dawn on his face. Tears accompanied a tentative smile as his recently treated eye finally sensed light.

He thanked the nurses and the doctor for his unexpected gift of vision as he left for his village the next day. He returned later for his second surgery.

Today he has returned home and resumed his work.