It had rained heavily all night but the depression in the bay had not apparently weakened and the rains were lashing out with unabated vigour much after sunrise, a city not cut out for heavy rains the roads in Chennai were predictably clogged making both vehicular and movement on foot most cumbersome and normal life was thrown totally out of gear.

The scene inside the Jaslok Community Ophthalmic Centre the community services wing of Sankara Nethralaya offering cost free treatment to indigent patients however painted a very different picture. The clock at the front office showed 8:00 am and inhospitable weather notwithstanding poor and needy patients had assembled in good number at the place which had over the years become a beacon of hope for the poorest of the poor among the visually impaired. The place was bustling with activity, hospital staff serving free breakfast for the waiting patients, front office executives busy registering new patients, attendants guiding first time patients on procedures and doctors and Para medial staff rushing about in right earnest.

Among the patients assembled at the waiting lounge was little Krishnamurthy a nervous little lad of about 7 years standing with his hand firmly clasping his father’s hand, he seemed to be in a state of shock and fear, unsure of his movements without help from his father. Father and son had traveled more than 200 kilometers from their native village near Thiruvannamalai unmindful of the hostile weather conditions to the Jaslok Community Ophthalmic Centre the place on which Anand the boy’s father had pinned his last hope of regaining his little son’s vision.

After a quick registration process the executive at the front office started with the preliminary questions on what the problem was, the father of the boy seemed to be under heavy emotional stress and could hardly bring the words to his mouth, between sobs and sighs he narrated that his son Krishnamurthy aged 7 years was struck very hard by a cricket bat on his left eye when playing a game of cricket near his home, the impact of the blow had caused major damage to the left eye and had robbed him of his sight instantly. The doctor at the local clinic after examining the effected eye had indicated that the damage seemed irreparable; he expressed his helplessness and referred the boy to the nearby government hospital for a second opinion. The doctors at the government hospital examined the effected eye, realizing the seriousness of the case and the poor financial state of the boy’s father they referred the patient to the Sankara Nethralaya for cost free advanced treatment.

The front office executive at JCOC took at a quick look at the letter from the government hospital; it described the case as Traumatic Cataract Left with doubtful Post Capsule. Realizing the gravity and urgency of the situation he got to act quickly, he understood that the diagnosis and treatment of the problem would involve several examinations, which would warrant the patient’s stay in the city for a couple of days. Given the terrible weather and the financial wherewithal of the patient there was no way they could have found accommodation in the city or be asked to shuttle between their village and Chennai. The front office attendant immediately made arrangements for the boy and his father to stay at the hospital until the treatment could be completed.

The boy was then thoroughly examined by a team of doctors, after several levels of in-depth evaluation the team concluded that it was a case of Pars Plenor Cataract requiring Anterior Viterectomy and implanting of Foldable intraocular lens under local anesthesia. This was followed by Lab and physician tests to ascertain the boy’s fitness for surgery after which surgery was successfully carried out by a senior surgeon and the patient was discharged the very next day with vision in his left eye fully restored. It was an emotionally and professionally fulfilling moment for the surgeons, doctors, paramedical and administrative staff who attended to little Anand from the day he walked in with the pain and trauma of loosing his vision in his left eye.

To Krishnamurthy the boy’s father it was a moment of ecstasy and joy beyond words, a fortnight’s anxious wait was over, his worst fears were belied and his son’s vision was restored fully, he was overwhelmed by a mixture of emotions and was at a total loss for words, his attempts to express his gratitude to the doctors and staff at JCOC failed as his voice was choked and the words seemed to be failing him once again, tears ran down his cheek so much like when he walked in a fortnight back, it was just that this time around they were tears of joy!

On October 8, 2011 Dallas Metroplex was treated to a multicultural event by a group of seventy-two children performing Light music, Indian classical music, folk dances to an audience of over four hundred.

This program was created and coordinated for Sankara Nethralaya by Shruthi Prabhu, a fifteen-year-old high school student. Shruthi had approached Sankara Nethralaya to help her launch this program to raise funds. Shruthi’s grandmother had Glaucoma and that made Shruthi determined to do some charity work for the needy in the vision area. Sankara Nethralaya OM Trust the US entity of Sankara Nethralaya was happy to support this program.

After three months of rehearsals, on October 8th, 2011, Small Acts of Kindness took place. It was a multicultural program including the participation of several dance and music schools throughout the Metroplex. Sruthilaya, Pranavam Music School, Nruthya Sakthi Dance School, Divya Dhwani, and many other schools participated in the performance.

The program began promptly at 4:00 PM with a welcome note by Shri Santhanam Mullur and a piano piece composed and played by Shruthi Prabhu followed by her talk on the genesis of the program. It also included a rendition of “We are the World” by Michael Jackson and “Firework” by Katy Perry. Hindustani and Carnatic music, as well as several dance numbers, were performed. The audience was indeed impressed at the diversity of this unique event. The theme song for this event was “Ovvoru Pookkalume” from the movie Autograph. This song was auctioned (a unique concept introduced to Dallas) off to the audience and raised about $500 by itself. People responded with generous, donations, and sponsorship. All of the children performed with something that could only be described as determination, happiness, and humility. Towards the end, all the teachers of the school who participated and Shruthi Prabhu were given a Sankara Nethralaya plaque and all the children were given a certificate of participation. As a note of thanks and recognition for continued help to Sankara Nethralaya, Hema Mohan (Fun Asia), Ambreen Hasnat (Fun Asia) were given SN Plaques by Shabnam Modgil of Fun Asia. The event ended with Dr. Arvind Neelakantan thanking the patrons, audience and the volunteers.

Without a doubt, this was the program of the year, and we will look forward to similar performances in the near future.

As part of its Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives, Michelin Tyres joined hands with Sankara Nethralaya to conduct three eye screening camps in Tiruvallur district. A total of 599 people underwent a basic vision screening at the camps held at Sengarai village (September 18), Karadiputhur village (November 13) and Karadiputhur village (December 12). One hundred and two people were identified with vision-related problems. Forty-six people were taken to the base hospital for further ophthalmic evaluation, 23 underwent surgery and 128 were provided with spectacles. The costs for the surgery and spectacles were borne by Michelin Tyres.

Mr. V. Sivakumar, Administrator, Jaslok Community Ophthalmic Centre lauded Michelin’s efforts in successfully conducting the eye camps. “Efforts such as these from corporate bodies will go a long way in ensuring that health care services reach out to all sections of society,” he said.

‘Natya Drishti’, a well-choreographed Bharatnatyam performance by students from the Ellora Centre for Performing Arts, was presented in Dallas-Forth Worth, Texas, US, on October 24, 2010, in aid of Sankara Nethralaya.

The theme — “Vision-A Gift from God”— was in conjunction with Sankara Nethralaya’s mission for vision and was presented by twenty-five children from the Ellora Centre under the able guidance and choreography of their guru Smt. Vani Ishwara. The troupe presented dances depicting the grace of Lord Shiva and the lives of his devotees including Kannappa Nayanar.

The audience of about 350 people was left enthralled by the outstanding performance by the artists. Sankara Nethralaya’s founder and Chairman Emeritus Dr. SS Badrinath and his wife Dr. Vasanthi Badrinath also participated at the fund-raiser.

Dr. Badrinath spoke passionately on the current and future growth, research and philanthropic activities of Sankara Nethralaya in the field of eye care in India. He, along with Dr. Vasanthi, expressed their gratitude and encouraged the audience to donate towards the cause of Sankara Nethralaya. Their presence and interaction with the artists, guests and volunteers was a great source of inspiration and encouragement.

Sankara Nethralaya alumnus Dr. Arvind Neelakantan, a practicing Glaucomatologist in Dallas, while praising the institution for its Ophthalmology training and focus on Community Ophthalmology Programs, urged the gathering to donate to SN OM Trust and thereby support Sankara Nethralaya in its fight against blindness.

On behalf of Sankara Nethralaya, Dr. Badrinath and Dr. Vasanthi Badrinath presented plaques to Smt. Vani Ishwara and the child artists who performed during the event, for their support to Sankara Nethralaya. The dance program was organized by Mr. Suresh Dalapathy and Mr. Santhanam Mullur, Trustees of Sankara Nethralaya OM Trust, a fund-raising vehicle in the US for Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai, with support from local volunteers.

Sankara Nethralaya OM (SN OM) Trust has been approved as a Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) participant in 2011 by the US Office of Personnel Management (OPM). SN OM Trust has been participating in CFC for the past several years.

CFC is a drive by the US Office of Personnel Management encouraging US federal employees to donate to various non profit charities pre-screened by them. Every year a booklet is published of the pre-selected charities whom federal employees are encouraged to donate as a one-time contribution or through payroll deduction. Employees can start or make changes in contribution only during the 'open season', which for 2011 is open now through December 13, 2010.

The CFC number for Sankara Nethralaya OM Trust is 68803.

If you are a US federal employee, kindly designate Sankara Nethralaya OM Trust
(Number 68803) as your chosen charity. If you know of a federal employee, kindly motivate them to designate SN OM Trust - no. 68803 - as their chosen charity. Various local CFC chapters will collect funds and remit to SN OM Trust
periodically.

For further information on the CFC program, please contact
Mr. SV Acharya
e-mail: acharya@omtrust.org
Ph: (301) 529-7377

As part of a joint collaboration between the Rotary Club of Chennai Galaxy, Lions Club, and Sankara Nethralaya, a team of super specialized doctors from Sankara Nethralaya conducted an eye camp at Nairobi, Kenya from May 20 - May 27, 2010.

Over 1000 patients requiring specialized ophthalmic care were examined. The team of doctors performed procedures like prophylactic retinal lasers and operated upon complicated cases in Oculoplasty and Vitreo Retina. A total of over 25 prophylactic lasers were performed. The Oculoplasty team performed almost 55 complicated and skilled procedures.

Dr. Rashmin Gandhi, Senior Consultant, Neuro-Ophthalmology, who led the team, performed complicated phacoemulsification cataract surgeries and delivered an invited talk for a local group of ophthalmologists.

The camp was a great clinical experience for the doctors as they witnessed complicated cases in their respective specialties.

Dr. Bipasha Mukherjee, Director, Orbit, Oculoplasty & Trauma, Dr. Shubra Goel, Associate Consultant, Orbit, Oculoplasty & Trauma and Dr. Pukhraj Rishi, Associate Consultant, Vitreo Retina were also part of the team.

Rotarian Mr. Karikalan and Lion Mr. Hari Narayanan also participated at the week-long camp.

For the entire team, the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of so many was a truly rewarding experience.

Sankara Nethralaya, Kolkata, in association with Skipper Steel Ltd. organized an eye camp on May 28 & 29, 2010 at Uluberia, Howrah, about 70 km away from Kolkata, West Bengal.

Around 530 patients were screened out of which 28 were diagnosed with Cataract and were referred for surgery at the base hospital in Kolkata. As part of Sankara Nethralaya’s community outreach programme, the patients will be brought to the base hospital in Kolkata where a free-of-cost cataract surgery will be performed on them.

Union Minister of State for Tourism, Shri.Sultan Ahmed, SN-Kolkata Advisory Committee Members Shri. SK Bansal and Shri.B.P Jalan visited the eye camp. The Minister expressed his pleasure on the community work undertaken by Sankara Nethralaya-Kolkata.

As part of its Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative, Indian Bank — a leading nationalized bank — has come forward with a munificent donation of Rs. 1 crore towards Sankara Nethralaya.

Indian Bank (Chennai) Chairman and Managing Director Mr. M.S. Sundara Rajan, who presented the cheque to Chairman Emeritus Dr. SS Badrinath on March 15, 2010, lauded the “customer- centric attitude” adopted by the institution as well as the “mind-boggling number of cases the institute’s dedicated team of doctors attend to.”

Appreciating the Indian Bank’s magnanimous gesture, Dr. S.S.Badrinath, said “it means a lot to us, as every rupee is channeled towards the well being of the needy. We are grateful to all our donors who propel our mission of serving the poor and reaching out to people who do not have access to medical facilities.”

The donation will be directed towards supporting the services of the second floor of the main consultation block (MAHYCO) located at Sankara Nethralaya’s main campus. The second floor houses the Glaucoma, Neuro-ophthalmology and Glaucoma diagnostic services. Every day about 200 people are seen on this floor.

A plaque was unveiled by Mr. Sundara Rajan on the occasion.

Sankara Nethralaya activities hailed
The Hindu, March 16, 2010

The Seonee hills came alive at the Georgetown Center Auditorium, Austin, Texas, US, as Mowgli and his friends from the animal kingdom recounted one of the most loved tales of the century in a brilliantly-choreographed dance drama by the Natyalaya School of Dance.

Children were at their artistic best, as they took the audience in an enchanting journey of Rudyard Kipling’s famed ‘Jungle Book.’

The performance, a benefit concert for Sankara Nethralaya, was attended by around 300 people. The remarkable efforts by Ms. Vinitha Subramanian & the 24 children from the Natyalaya School of Dance were showcased in every act.

For their incredible enthusiasm in participating in the benefit concert and supporting Nethralaya’s cause, the children were presented with plaques of honor by Sankara Nethralaya and Sankara Nethralaya Ophthalmic Mission Trust.

Sankara Nethralaya Ophthalmic Mission Trust, Inc., a registered non-profit organization in the United States of America, was established in 1988 with the sole purpose of supporting Sankara Nethralaya, a charitable, not-for-profit ophthalmic hospital, in Chennai, India. Every year SN OM Trust, with the support from society at large, raises funds for Sankara Nethralaya by conducting various events.