The Jenkyns Village program

| By Lorie Gibson, former Vice-President of International Programs
Categories: Communities, India, Our Work
| Tags: , , ,
Developed by our Indian staff, Operation Eyesight’s model of hospital-based community eye care stresses the importance of recruiting and training local individuals as community workers. The goal of these workers is to promote health in their communities, which they do through a process of eye health screenings, referrals, and follow-up visits. This model has been… Continue Reading The Jenkyns Village program

Sight and love in an Indian slum

| By Lynne Dulaney, Former Director of Communications
Categories: Communities, India, Our Work
| Tags: , , , , ,

Gaddam Naresh was devastated. The 28-year-old resident of Hyderabad’s Fatehnagar slum had just learned that his marriage proposal had been rejected because of his poor vision. His sweetheart’s family didn’t think he could provide for her. And he couldn’t really argue with them. Gaddam’s income from driving an auto rickshaw had dropped dramatically since he’d… Continue Reading Sight and love in an Indian slum

Gates Foundation reinforces importance of evaluation

| By Lynne Dulaney, Former Director of Communications
Categories: Communities, Kenya, Our Work
| Tags: , , ,
Monitoring in action: the tiny Kenyan village of Ongata Naado has seen great progress since Operation Eyesight drilled a well to combat trachoma in 2007. Click to read more.
When one of the world’s most active and generous philanthropists stresses the importance of evaluation, people sit up and pay attention. Earlier this week on the Gates Foundation website, Bill Gates focussed his 2013 annual letter on “Measuring Progress.” He wrote, “In the past year, I have been struck by how important measurement is to… Continue Reading Gates Foundation reinforces importance of evaluation

A million thanks!

| By Lorie Gibson, former Vice-President of International Programs
Categories: Communities, Eye Surgery, India, Our Work
| Tags: , , , ,
When I visited India for the first time last year, I was struck by the sheer number of people who seemed to be everywhere. That’s why it was hard to imagine that there are areas in India where people had trouble accessing eye care. However, often people who need care the most can’t make it… Continue Reading A million thanks!

Back to work and back to school!

| By Lynda Cherry, former Vice-President of International Programs
Categories: Communities, India
| Tags: , , , , , , ,
Sachin is a 59-year-old farmer and traditional healer who lives with his family in the village of Bhutini Para in the Rajganj Block of West Bengal. As the chief breadwinner, he was very concerned when he began to lose his vision. It got so bad that he could no longer farm or deliver herbal medicines… Continue Reading Back to work and back to school!