We’ve been working in Kerala since 1973, as part of our long-term development strategy to eliminate avoidable blindness in India.” While we’re not a disaster relief organization, Little Flower Hospital came to us, explaining the severity of the situation and asking us for help. We already have the processes and resources in place to provide immediate eye care to those in need, and we’re eager to help.

Hit by monsoon rains and torrential downpours, Kerala received over 222 cm of rainfall (40 per cent more than average) between June and August this year. Roads have been washed out and 80 per cent of the state was without electricity for almost a week. Homes were destroyed, leaving millions of people displaced and without any of their possessions, including their eyeglasses.

With the spread of waterborne bacteria, there is already a reported rise in eye infections – but people are unable to access eye care services for medicine or treatment. To make matters worse, there is a shortage of ophthalmic personnel and people are also unable to access their money to pay for services.

“We’re grateful to our donors who have given generously to our Greatest Needs Fund in the past, trusting us to put their donations to good use where it’s most needed in our work,” says Aly Bandali, our President & CEO. “This gives us the flexibility to be able to respond to situations like this.”

Little Flower Hospital has started conducting medical camps in relief camp sites, however, their resources are extremely limited, and thousands of people in need of medical assistance are being left out. Our team in India already has a plan in place to reach those who are unable to access, or afford, eye care services right now.

“We’ve started mapping out the areas where the need is greatest and will soon be mobilizing community outreach teams,” says Dr. Santosh Moses, our Regional Manager in South Asia. “At the health camps, we’ll screen people for eye problems and provide free eye care treatment for those in need. We’ll provide antibiotics to treat infection, new prescription eyeglasses, surgical treatment and other eye services as needed.”

Our organization has been working with Little Flower Hospital since 1975. As an international development organization, we’ve supported the establishment of the hospital’s eye department, enabling Little Flower Hospital to perform the first corneal transplantations in India. In addition, we’ve worked with eight other local eye hospitals in the past, at one point covering 10 out of the 14 districts in the state.

While we aim to integrate eye care services into the country’s existing infrastructure and ultimately help partner hospitals become self-sustaining, we’re also able to utilize its existing partnerships to react quickly to events such as the Kerala floods.

Your support means so much to so many! To help us to continue our sight-saving work in Africa and South Asia, you can donate $5 by texting “EYESIGHT” to 45678 or by going to our donation page.

The post Worst floods in a century have left people vulnerable, without access to eye care appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

Because of you, millions of people have avoided becoming needlessly blind. Girls and boys go to school, learn their ABCs, and play with their classmates. Men and women provide for their families and go about their lives. They have brighter futures because of you.

Here are just a few of our 2011 highlights.

In India, 2011 was the first full year of operations for our hospital-based community eye health programs, which are designed to provide comprehensive eye care and blindness prevention to India’s poorest. Last year, the programs screened almost 40,000 people and provided education in child care, nutrition and general health to almost 250,000 people.

This is a remarkable achievement, given that our health education program reached just 18,000 people in 2010.

Another 2011 highlight was the opening of India’s Little Flower Hospital eye department building. It will be a “centre of excellence” to serve the 32 million people in Kerala and surrounding states.

In Africa, we met our four-year target of completing 51 waterpoints in Kenya’s Narok district, including the amazing transformation of Ongata Naado. The tiny village went from a dusty, dry outpost with a ramshackle school to a progressive community with gardens, a water distribution service and a brand new school for 650 students. How? Operation Eyesight donors invested in a borehole and educating the community about taking care of this precious resource. See the pictures and read the full two-part story here and here.

Ongata Naado is just one example of more than 40 communities in Kenya and 50 in Zambia with similar stories – all because they worked with Operation Eyesight over the past several years. This is the kind of difference you are making to some of the world’s poorest people.

Our 2011 Report to Donors tells the full story of all that we accomplished together. As you read the report, I hope you’ll be as excited and as interested as I was! After all, it’s all thanks to you.

The post Thanks to you! appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

For instance, in North American hospitals, the operating rooms have one door for everything and everyone that comes and goes – limited access is key to sanitation.

One distinctly Indian innovation is to include another door in the operating room – a smaller, stainless steel door with a double barrier that leads to a service corridor. It is through this door that all the supplies, instruments and linens pass through (like a dumb waiter) which reduces the number of people who have to enter the room. Only medical personnel use the main door. Ingenious!

I came to India knowing that most Indians are very hard working, industrious people. What I had not experienced was their ongoing ability to reflect on their lives, their actions and how that impacts them, their families and their immediate life path. Through these reflections they see promise and potential, and they know that it may take a bit of time and a lot of work before they see success.

This resonates well with the way that Operation Eyesight understands sustainability and quality outcomes. Our leaders, past and present, see the potential that exists in India and Africa. We remain hopeful and forward-thinking in the way we work, while striving to listen carefully to our partners and adopting their vision for their own people.

In India, we work to build the capacity of our partners to craft Indian solutions, not North American solutions that may or may not work. This is the nature of true partnership – value the invaluable assets that the Indian people bring to the table.

One last story… on the walls throughout Little Flower Hospital are metal plaques with the names of organizations that have donated rooms or equipment. Some of the plaques look new and some look old and worn – especially the ones that commemorate a gift from Operation Eyesight.

Father Sebastian, Little Flower’s director and chief administrator, says the plaques that look old aren’t necessarily old. They look that way because people touch them. He says patients recognize Operation Eyesight, and they touch the plaques and perhaps say a word of thanks.

That is evidence of relationship. That’s partnership.

The post India has much to teach us – Part 2 appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

To a first-time visitor, India seems overwhelming – the masses of people, the riot of colour. To a Canadian like me, it seemed like chaos, but the truth is there is a practical and deep order to things. I went to India with an open heart and mind, and was rewarded with an overwhelming appreciation of this ancient land.

I visited several of Operation Eyesight’s partner hospital programs over the course of two weeks, but the one that keeps coming to mind is Little Flower Hospital in Kerala on the southern tip of India.

An amazing facility in many ways, I instantly took note of its forest location – the recently built tower is fronted by an urban street, but a vast, undeveloped forest stretches out at the back. It reminded me of the Jungle Book! I was struck by the way in which Indians live in the modern world, but also in the natural world – they try to embrace the best of both.

Similarly, the people of India seem comfortable acknowledging the past while also moving into the future. What I observed in the people I met at the hospital and in the community was a sense of hopefulness and progress. But they measure that progress over generations, not just over a lifetime.

Little Flower hospital itself is an amazing model of efficiency, but again, it’s different from North America. Picture hundreds of people in the hallways, all of them moving purposefully. I later learned that great thought had been put into the design of the facility, allowing an easy flow through the diagnosis and treatment process.

Despite the number of patients and staff, there was no apparent chaos. Except for us – as visitors, we were swimming upstream. Our guide was giggling because we were the ones creating havoc!

There’s more to the story. Next week, in part 2, I’ll talk about how the Indian view of progress connects with Operation Eyesight’s values.

The post India has much to teach us – Part 1 appeared first on Operation Eyesight.