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In the poor, rural areas in Madhya Pradesh, where we work, the problem of cataract and other eye ailments is very common, especially for the elderly. And due to poverty and difficulties in accessing good hospitals, most of them remain untreated, and gradually lose eyesight. It’s a tragedy that despite being a simply curable illness, cataract causes loss of eyesight for millions of persons in India.
To address this problem, we have collaborated with two highly reputed eye hospitals (of the same Trust) in Madhya Pradesh for this project, which is aimed at restoring the vision of poor villagers, especially the elderly. The eye hospitals are Shri SadguruSevaSangh Trust Eye Hospital, Anandpur, District Vidisha and Sri SadguruSevaSangh Trust Eye Hospital, Chitrakoot. There are two ways through which we are carrying out this activity:
(i) Community Outreach Camps: We facilitate organizing eye camps by these hospitals in our SevaKutir areas. Our team surveys an area of around 20 to 30 villages, spreads information through loudspeakers, pamphlets etc across these villages about the eye camps. On the day of the camp, patients from these villages come to attend the camp and get treated. We also actively take many patients in our vehicles from their homes to the camps. This is needed because many of them do not have means to travel, or for some other reasons, are not able to come to the camp by themselves. At the camp, patients are checked, given free medicines and glasses. Those patients who require surgery are selected for sending them to the Hospital in a bus in the next few days.
(ii) Patients’ Visits to Hospital: We take the persons identified for eye surgeries over a 3-4 days visit and stay to these hospitals for surgeries. While the hospital bears the surgery costs through government sponsorship, as well as staying and food costs, we bear the travelling costs. Our staff mobilizes the patients, take them to the hospital and handhold them during the visits and stay till they return to their homes.
We have named this as ParivaarShravan Kumar Prakalpa basing its ideal and deriving its inspiration from Shravan Kumar who was epitome of service for his blind parents.
For Rs 1200, 9 patients are examined, served with medication and spectacles (in cases needed) and one eye surgery done.
The data of camps, surgeries and treatment done in the last 3 years (since June'21) is given below:
| S.No | Particulars | Quantity (in nos.) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Number of Districts Covered | 38 |
| 2 | Number of Camps Held | 5171 |
| 3 | Number of Persons examined, given medication, & glasses | 605957 |
| 4 | Number of Surgeries | 67538 |
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