In the impoverished rural areas of Madhya Pradesh, the problem of cataract and other eye ailments is very common, especially among the elderly. Due to poverty and difficulties in accessing hospitals, most of them remain untreated and gradually lose their eyesight. It is tragic that despite being a simple and curable illness, cataract causes loss of eyesight for millions of people in India.
To address this problem, we have collaborated with two highly reputed eye hospitals (belonging to the same Trust) in Madhya Pradesh for this project, which is aimed at restoring the vision of impoverished rural and tribal people, especially the elderly. The eye hospitals are Shri Sadguru Seva Sangh Trust Eye Hospital, Anandpur (District-Vidisha) and Shri Sadguru Seva Sangh Trust Eye Hospital, Chitrakoot (District-Satna).
(i) Community Outreach Camps: Community Outreach Camps: We facilitate organizing eye camps by these hospitals in various tribal pockets. Our team surveys an area of around 10 to 15 villages and spreads information through loudspeakers, pamphlets etc. across these villages about the eye camps. On the day of the camp, patients from these villages attend the camp and get examined. We also actively take many patients in our vehicles from their homes to the camps. At the camp, patients are checked and given free medicines and glasses. Those patients who require surgery are selected and sent to the Hospital in a bus in the following few days.
(ii) Patients’ Visits to the Hospital:We take the persons identified for eye surgeries over a 3-4 day stay at these hospitals for surgeries. While the hospital bears the surgery costs through government sponsorship, as well as the cost of stay and food, we bear the travel costs. Our staff mobilizes the patients, takes them to the hospital, and handholds them during the travel and stay until they return to their homes.
We have named this as Parivaar Shravan Kumar Prakalpa basing its ideal and deriving its inspiration from Shravan Kumar who was the epitome of service for his blind parents.
The data of camps, surgeries and treatment done in the last 4 years (since June'21) is given below:
| S.No | Particulars | Quantity (in nos.) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Number of Districts Covered | 39 |
| 2 | Number of Camps Held | 7250 |
| 3 | Number of Persons examined, given medication, & glasses | 739000 |
| 4 | Number of Surgeries | 82000 |
