With great joy and gratitude for the service, we announce the completion of the Sai Maa Cataract 2014-15 Winter program. Each year Sai Maa Vishnu Shakti Trust (SMVST) sponsors 100 cataract surgeries in the villages surrounding Varanasi. The vision of the villagers who is severely impaired and to receive free surgery to restore their eyesight is a tremendous life-altering gift. Once again this program was completely supported from the generous donations of the Sai Maa communities throughout the world.
Each November SMVST meets with our partners, Vivekanand Mission Hospital, to plan the calendar of events for the cataract surgeries. The winter months are the best time for the surgeries because, as the weather gets warmer, the chance of infection, and thus loss of eyesight, increases exponentially. The days for the eye camps are then communicated to the eye doctors who perform the operations. The ophthalmologists conduct these surgeries as seva (selfless service) without remuneration, so they are done outside their normal work schedules and when the villagers are available.
Each November SMVST meets with our partners, Vivekanand Mission Hospital, to plan the calendar of events for the cataract surgeries. The winter months are the best time for the surgeries because, as the weather gets warmer, the chance of infection, and thus loss of eyesight, increases exponentially. The days for the eye camps are then communicated to the eye doctors who perform the operations. The ophthalmologists conduct these surgeries as seva (selfless service) without remuneration, so they are done outside their normal work schedules and when the villagers are available.
The next step is to advertise the eye camps through all the local villages and to coordinate the camps so as to draw the maximum attendance from the local communities. Sometimes this even means assisting the villagers to attend the camps by providing transportation and lodging overnight. Each patient receives a free eye checkup, the surgical procedure and one month’s supply of medicines and checkups. A typical eye camp may have as many as 150 to 200 villagers. After screening an average of 30-35 are found to have cataracts. Of those, only around 20-25 will also meet the medical criteria such as blood pressure and sugar levels, that will allow them to undergo surgery and take the medicines required against infection and to promote healing.
These villagers have a great respect for their religious leaders - far more than the government service providers. Because these operations are done under the name of Sai Maa, they have this credibility of a master backing them and so people have greater faith. This trust in Sai Maa is instrumental in the participation of many, but even so we consistently have 1-2 people who do not arrive for the operations and choose to wait for the surgery till later – and sometimes the unfortunate consequence is that the surgery is no longer viable.
This is the third year of the program, and once again, all 100 surgeries were a success. This program began as an agreement between Sai Maa and the Vivekanand Trust to create a program that would serve the villagers in the state of eastern Uttar radesh. Sai Maa Vishnu Shakti Trust is proud to say that all funds for this project now come from the support of the global Sai Maa community. We are grateful for your willingness to support this program and to offer the gift of sight to those who otherwise would face a life of increasing darkness and dependence.
If you see value and would like to sponsor the fourth year of this program, you may use the following donate button to show your support. In India, it is understood that the opportunity to serve another also allows the soul of the receiver to bless the giver. May the souls of 300 successful cataract patients bless each of you.
These villagers have a great respect for their religious leaders - far more than the government service providers. Because these operations are done under the name of Sai Maa, they have this credibility of a master backing them and so people have greater faith. This trust in Sai Maa is instrumental in the participation of many, but even so we consistently have 1-2 people who do not arrive for the operations and choose to wait for the surgery till later – and sometimes the unfortunate consequence is that the surgery is no longer viable.
This is the third year of the program, and once again, all 100 surgeries were a success. This program began as an agreement between Sai Maa and the Vivekanand Trust to create a program that would serve the villagers in the state of eastern Uttar radesh. Sai Maa Vishnu Shakti Trust is proud to say that all funds for this project now come from the support of the global Sai Maa community. We are grateful for your willingness to support this program and to offer the gift of sight to those who otherwise would face a life of increasing darkness and dependence.
If you see value and would like to sponsor the fourth year of this program, you may use the following donate button to show your support. In India, it is understood that the opportunity to serve another also allows the soul of the receiver to bless the giver. May the souls of 300 successful cataract patients bless each of you.
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