After working in India for over 50 years, we have some great stories to share. For instance, our 10-millionth eye treatment was performed in 1987 on 12-year-old Satish Kumar for an infected gland in his upper eyelid. But did you know that Operation Eyesight’s origin in India is also a romantic one?

In many ways, our story begins on the honeymoon of Dr. Ben and Evlyn Gullison, Canadians who travelled to Sompeta, India in 1932 as medical missionaries. They discovered 200,000 people who were blind and had no medical care whatsoever. The Gullisons founded Arogyavaram Hospital to serve the region’s health needs.

However, Dr. Ben was not an eye doctor, so in 1949 he convinced ophthalmologist Dr. John Coapullai to join their staff. But many people were too poor to afford even basic eye care. Dr. Ben returned to Canada seeking funding for his hospital. There he met Calgary businessman Art Jenkyns, who became inspired by Dr. Ben’s vision and founded Operation Eyesight.

At first, the tiny charity worked to meet Arogyavaram’s needs, such as a new roof in 1966 after the old one became infested with termites! But from those small beginnings and thanks to dedicated donors and volunteers, the organization grew to support four additional hospitals in India by 1969, assuming the full operating costs of Arogyavaram by 1970.

During these years, we focused on mass cataract surgeries to combat one of the main causes of blindness. Since then, we’ve come to realize that a world without avoidable blindness can only be achieved when everyone has access to sustainable, quality eye care, regardless of their ability to pay.

With that in mind, in 2001 we entered into a formal partnership with India’s world-renowned LV Prasad Eye Institute, initiating a period where we would work more closely with our partners, offering technical expertise with the goal of each partner reaching financial self-sustainability.

Our health care model now focuses on quality rather than quantity and stresses the importance of recruiting and training local individuals as community workers. This model is so successful that in 2013 it was endorsed by Vision 2020 India, which is encouraging its partners to adopt it.

Our donors have a direct impact beyond our 40 Indian hospital partners. One such partner is Chandra Prabha Eye Hospital. Together, we’re bringing eye care to the 150,000 people of Majuli Island, who previously had no vision services at all.

It was only a few years after our organization’s founding that we began to support projects outside India. For a long time, this work was scattered, with individual projects in Africa, Asia and South America. Today, our work outside of India is focused in the African countries of Ghana, Kenya and Zambia. Visit our website to learn more about our programs in each country.

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Never did Bonny Gideon and his wife Nagamani imagine that their future would be dependent upon the tiny hands that they held to teach baby steps.

The couple live in the village of Pangidigudem, located in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where Bonny works at a non-governmental organization. Both husband and wife suffer from vision-related problems: Bonny has cataract and several other eye issues, and Nagamani suffers from night blindness. Unfortunately, their conditions are irreversible.

On the advice of some friends, they have been treated at the Bob Ohlson Centre for Sight Enhancement at Operation Eyesight’s partner LV Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI) in Visakhapatnam. The centre was established for rehabilitation treatment in 2006 with support from Operation Eyesight.

About six years ago, Nagamani and Bonny became proud parents of a daughter whom they named Smiley. But when they were told that their baby was also blind from cataract, their dreams came crashing down. They were devastated at the thought of their child facing the same fate that they suffered. Fortunately, local doctors, whom they consulted first, urged them to take their baby to LVPEI when she was only four months old.

When Dr. Avinash Pathengay saw the little family in the outpatient department, he stopped by to enquire about their wellbeing. When he learned that they were there not for themselves, but for their tiny daughter, he reassured the worried parents that

Smiley’s vision-related challenges were only temporary.

With their worries allayed by Dr. Avinash and the counselor, Smiley underwent surgery to remove the cataracts in her eyes. A month after surgery, she regained her vision completely. Today, at almost six years old, she is able to perform tasks similar to other children her age, and also attend school. She continues to visit the Bob Ohlson Centre for Sight Enhancement for follow-up treatment, and is a familiar sight to the staff of the centre.

“Smiley is using vision correction glasses as the doctor advised, attending school and helping her mother when she returns home,” says the happy father. “She reads the names of places and the numbers on the bus for us when we go out. She talks incessantly about the posters on the walls, and tells us about whatever is happening around us all along our way.

“She is the anchor to our lives; she is our eyes!”

Cataracts don’t discriminate; the vision-clouding condition can lead to blindness in tiny babies, children, adults and seniors alike. Fortunately, the solution is relatively simple! Learn how you can help.

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And he couldn’t really argue with them. Gaddam’s income from driving an auto rickshaw had dropped dramatically since he’d stopped driving at night – he couldn’t see very well and was afraid that he’d cause an accident.

After Gaddam’s father died, he became the chief breadwinner for his mother and two brothers. He felt that he didn’t have time to get his eyes checked because it would take time away from work.

When Vijaya Lakshmi, an Operation Eyesight community health worker, checked his eyes, she saw the problem immediately – cataract. She explained the condition and the surgery required to correct it, and recommended he attend the free screening clinic happening the next day.

Following Vijaya’s advice, Gaddam soon found himself on his way to Operation Eyesight partner LV Prasad’s secondary eye hospital with a member of our project team. He had surgery on Sept. 6, 2012 and regained 20/20 vision the very next day!

Gaddam is back driving his auto rickshaw at all hours of the day and night, earning additional money for his youngest brother’s education and to gain permission to marry his chosen bride. “Because of you, I have regained my confidence. I can see properly, support my family and will marry my sweetheart,” rejoices Gaddam.

Perhaps we can soon add “matchmaker” to the long list of Operation Eyesight donor accomplishments!

Isn’t that a great love story? Valentine’s Day is just a couple of weeks away, so check out our Gift Guide to give your sweetheart a life-changing gift today!

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Last year while in India, I visited the L.V. Prasad Eye Institute in Hyderabad, India. This world-class centre for vision care works closely with Operation Eyesight. I was touring the facility, marvelling at all the different departments. LVP handles just about every kind of eye problem you can imagine, including really complicated cases like corneal transplants.

In their Ocular Prosthesis department, I met a set of parents with a little boy who was being fitted for an artificial eye. I was impressed to learn of all the care that goes into the creation and fitting of these objects. They are made from medical grade acrylic and are designed to be an exact replica of the companion eye, complete with a natural look and movement.

More impressive was the effect it had on the boy. This little guy, about seven years old, experienced an eye injury that became infected. By the time he got to the hospital, it was too late to save his eye, but LVP still performed a miracle. Here he was, dressed in his Sunday best with mom and dad, for the big moment.

When the boy looked in the mirror, instead of a gaping hole he saw two eyes looking back at him. His delight and excitement was palpable. And the look on his parents’ delighted faces also told a story: My son will not be singled out as the kid with the disfigured face – he’ll be like everyone else.

According to the World Health Organization, in many countries 85 percent of small children who are blind die before the age of five. With large populations of low income people and families already struggling to survive, blind children are often neglected. It’s not that their families have hard hearts – they just have to make hard choices about their limited resources. The same goes for any child with a serious disability.

Operation Eyesight’s strong commitment to community eye care means that parents of children with eye problems will learn that help is available, and be able to respond before it is too late. Like the little boy I met, it was a community worker that put his parents in touch with LVP. They weren’t able to save his eye, but they did save his dignity and his opportunities for the future.

In countries where resources and access to eye care are scarce, schoolteachers and midwives are often trained as primary health caregivers, able to identify eye problems when interacting with local communities.

Take some time to reflect on how vulnerable little kids can be, and let’s remember the struggling kids who need our help.

The school year is drawing to a close. If your children or grandchildren have a favourite teacher, consider giving an eCard from Operation Eyesight. By doing so, you’ll be helping children in India and Africa.

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