We would like to offer you the opportunity to become involved in a medical project we support to help the people of India through a program operated by an It Is Written outreach ministry called Eyes for India. This is an opportunity for people in India to receive free cataract surgery if they are medically qualified.
Of the 1.2 billion people living in India, more than 15 million are afflicted with sight-impairing medical conditions. In many of these cases, their sight can be restored with one very simple surgery. Many people living in the rural communities of India suffer from operable cataracts, which they cannot afford to treat due to economic conditions or lack of local health care facilities. Ruby Nelson Memorial Hospital—a Christian facility in North India—has designed a humanitarian program that is restoring sight to thousands in these destitute rural communities.
How it works – Dr. Jacob Prabhakar, an ophthalmologist who is the medical director of Ruby Nelson Memorial Hospital, heads a team of professionals who conduct screening clinics in rural communities to find candidates for the surgical procedure of removing the defective lens from the eye and implanting an intraocular lens. A vehicle with medical staff and basic screening equipment travels to rural villages where clinics have been scheduled. The goal of the screening clinics, which take place in the rural villages, is to find candidates who are medically eligible for the cataract surgery procedure among the hundreds who are screened.
Those selected for the surgery are transported to a local hospital equipped for surgeries, or to the Ruby Nelson Memorial Hospital – free of charge. The patients are prepared for the surgical procedure by trained medical personnel. Since the actual cataract surgery takes only 2-3 minutes, patients are prepared and made ready. As many as 300 surgeries can be performed in one day.
Following the surgery, patients are kept up to three days for post-operative care and observation before returning to their home village. Each patient is presented with a gift of health and spiritual materials in their own language. This easy-to-understand packet is designed to improve their health and to help them understand that Christians care about others regardless of their religious or racial persuasion.
Grateful patients return to their home villages rejoicing in their renewed gift of sight. They in turn become ambassadors of goodwill to others in their villages.
How much does all this cost? Unbelievably, only $75 per patient.
If you are interested in helping with either a 1-time donation or a recurring donation, please see the internet link below.
Here is a link to learn more about this fascinating opportunity to help those who are less fortunate than us.
Eyes for India – It Is Written’s Blog
Tim & Christine Yorty
