How can you help?

To bring home what it means to be blind, Dr Desai got a group of schoolchildren in Jodhpur to be blindfolded and gave them a bowl of apples to peel! It drove home the point how much eyesight means!

We are engaged in combatting avoidable blindness. So many poor people’s cataracts degenerate into permanent blindness when not helped in time.

Therefore, whilst we can provide operations at a fraction of the cost it would cost in the UK, many of us can easily help and personally save someone from total blindness.

Presently our cost still works out at only £15 to save someone’s sight!

The stories we hear from the eye camps are often heartbreaking. Blind people are so often mistreated even by their own families as they become a burden! And the stories of happiness after sight is restored are truly wonderful. We had a little boy, only eight years old (Picture above), who was blind from birth. His sight was restored and his joy was beyond measure! Imagine when he saw the first bicycle - he wanted to have a go right away!

You could even help in fund raising. Here are examples: For my wife’s birthday we had a party and invited many friends. We told them on the invitation that under no circumstances should they bring a gift. If they feel however that they must, then please bring a cheque made out to ‘The Friends of the Tarabai Desai Eye Hospital’. Our friends donated well in excess of £1,000! If someone wants to repay me a favour, my answer is always “make a cheque out for our eyecamps”.

A Rotary Club member’s widow had been to Jodhpur in better days of health with her husband. He was a London Rotary Club member. They were so impressed with the work the hospital engaged in that they regularly supported the eye camps and when Sidney Spring died, Esme donated £1,000 so a special camp could be run in memory of her husband. A camp was duly held with large banners in memory of Sidney. Sadly Esme also now passed away. Her son David recently sent in another large donation from her estate!

The Popat family, personal friends of mine, did similar in memory of the sister of my friend Manish. A special camp was dedicated to the memory of Priti Popat. What a fine act. A large group of poor people will remember that they can see again due to Priti Popat’s family generosity. Another lady asked not to send flowers for her husbands funeral, but to give a donation to hold an eye camp. That too raised quite an amount!

So where there’s a will, there’s a way - or as Nelson Mandela said “Those who are prepared to join hands can overcome the greatest challenges”. There are so many ways and so many reasons one can find to do good for others.

Please help with a Gift of Sight!
Nothing could be more valuable to a poor blind person!
A contribution of £50, £100 or more can do untold good! Please, help and save somebody from being blind and incapable of looking after himself or even his family.