Eye Care - Akhand Jyoti Eye Hospital

Partner
Yugrishi Shriram Sharma Acharya Charitable Trust

www.akhandjyoti.in

Goal
Eradicate curable blindness in Bihar.

Mission
To eradicate curable blindness amongst the rural masses by providing accessible, affordable, sustainable, quality curative and preventive eye care services.

Duration
2009 to date

Overview
There are 1 million blind people living in Bihar State of which 560,000 are blind from cataract; this is one of the highest concentrations of cataract blind people in the world. After years of neglect, Bihar has ended up with an enormous backlog of which the majority is curable. 100,000 new cases add to this shocking number every year.

Akhand Jyoti Eye Hospital (AJEH) is currently the largest eye hospital in Bihar. This thriving hospital is extremely special as it began its life as a make-shift operation in a temple complex. The dedicated team raised enough funds to construct a hospital in a rural village called Mastichak. By 2006 surgeries commenced, and in no time at all patients were streaming through the doors. In 2010-11 the hospital performed 37,000 sight restoring surgeries totally free of charge for the poor. And they have managed all this without any grid electricity. Currently, the hospital runs on 24-hour generators.

The hospital employs local people and makes use of hundreds of volunteers. They hold outreach eye camps in incredibly remote areas where eye examinations have never been conducted before. When the team reaches the chosen spot the screening process begins; those patients in need of surgery will be given a date when the vehicle will come and collect them to take them to the hospital. Patients will stay for two nights at the hospital before being dropped back to their village with their sight restored. These patients would have no chance to see again if not for the dedication of the AJEH outreach teams.

Savitri Support

The Savitri Trust has donated £469,828 towards Akhand Jyoti Eye Hospital from 2009 till 31^st March 2011 for the following:

• 26,000 sight resorting surgeries for the poor (2009 – 2011)
• A mini-bus for patient transfer
• An ophthalmic microscope
• The new 4 bed operation theatre complex
• Construction of the Savitri Wing

Case Study

Rameshwar Mahto is 45 years old and totally blind from bilateral cataract (cataract in both eyes). Rameshwar lives with his wife and 16 year old daughter in the remote rural village of Tehra, Saran District in East Bihar. The village has no access to good roads, running water or electricity. Rameshwar explains “Without my eyes I can do nothing. I have nothing.”

Before Rameshwar lost his sight he was a farmer earning enough to support his family and allow his daughter to attend higher education. They were not a wealthy family but they were coping. After the cataracts took away his sight he would sit in his house unable to work or contribute to the household life, his self-worth deteriorated and his wife and daughter had no choice but to do everything they could to stop themselves falling into ruin.

Thankfully for Rameshwar, and so many others in a similar situation, the Akhand Jyoti Eye Hospital (AJEH) reaches out to remote villages to find those people completely blind from cataract. He was taken to the hospital where he received the cataract operation in his right eye (the left eye would be done at a later date) completely free of cost. The results are immediate, Rameshwar can see straight away after his surgery, he returns home elated. “Now I have my sight back I can work, I can do anything, I can make money for my daughter’s future wedding, I am so happy.”