EYE 2 EYE

MESSAGE FROM CHAIRMAN, SEF

1-866-SANKARA | GIFTOFVISION.ORG

August 2015, Volume 18, Issue 2

Dear Friends,

Warm greetings from San Jose.

I am very happy to inform you all that Charity Navigator has once again awarded us the top four-star rating for our commitment to accountability, transparency and governance and keeping the overheads low. Your invaluable support is being put to best use.

We partnered with Fullerton India and opened a vision care center at Dharapuram in Tirupur district of Tamil Nadu. This center will leverage tele-ophthalmology to link with the base hospital at Coimbatore and provide comprehensive primary eye care services to the rural patients in Tirupur.

Our volunteers have organized events and kept booths at various conventions – AAPI, NATS, TANA, FeTNA. We organized our first major event in New Jersey, by Shaan, at the NJPAC. I was in New Jersey for almost three weeks and helped expand our presence there. Now we have a big group of dedicated volunteers ready for a lot more action. We are always looking for volunteers to support with initiatives across the country, so come and join us!

SEF was also an anchor of Sevathon, a walk/run, organized by the India Community Center, in which more than 120 non-profits participated. SEF won the spirit award for the highest number of registrations.

The construction of our 10th hospital will start in Rajasthan next year. Rajasthan Association of North America (RANA, New York) is becoming a Partner-in-Service of this hospital.

We have acquired land in Indore, Madhya Pradesh (MP) for our 11th hospital and we are actively looking for land in Hyderabad, Telangana for our 12th hospital. If you or anyone you know is willing to donate land in Hyderabad, please let us know immediately. The donor will be prominently recognized at the hospital. More than $2M needs to be raised this year for each hospital for construction to begin next year.

We are working with the Bihar Foundation of USA for the Focus Bihar project, which will commence after our MP and Telangana projects. Bihar Foundation of USA raised $75K in pledges at the Bihar Divas in Cupertino, CA.

Please become a founding donor of Focus Indore or Focus Hyderabad for a donation of $1,000 and/or support our ‘Open an Eye a Month” initiative for only $30 a month.

Jyot Se Jyot Jalate ChaloPrem Ki Ganga Bahate Chalo

Sincerely yours,

Murali KrishnamurthyExecutive Chairman, SEF USA

OPEN AN EYE A MONTHFor $30 a month

you can sponsor a cataract surgery

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NOVEL KEYHOLE SURGERY: FOR POST-TRAUMATIC IRIS CYST

A year ago, a poor couple from Bihar, named Suraj and Radha, left behind their home, friends and loved ones in search of a better future for their three children. The family’s journey led them all the way to Ludhiana where they hoped to start a better life. Suraj and Radha both became daily wage earners. Suraj took up a job to work in a farm and Radha, besides taking care of their three children, started working as a housekeeper. Akash (6), Chandhu (8) and Sagar (10) were enrolled in a local school district. One day, Chandu came home after being poked in his left eye with a pen by a mischievous classmate. Radha, scared for Chandhu, took him to a nearby civil hospital, where he was operated upon and sent home shortly thereafter. In a month’s time, Chandu’s condition worsened and eventually, he became completely blind in his left eye. Suraj and Radha couldn’t bear to see their son suffering in pain. Somehow, the couple came to know about Sankara Eye Hospital in Ludhiana and brought Chandu for treatment.

Chandhu was admitted and examined by Dr. Madhu Karna (Pediatric Ophthalmologist), who immediately gave him medical treatment. Dr. Karna’s examination determined that Chandhu had developed a fluid-filled sac inside his eye from the injury, which increased pressure, obscuring his vision. This was a rare occurrence of an iris cyst, as a result of complication of a fairly common eye injury with a pen/pencil in children. The ultrasound and OCT (Optical Coherence Tomography) images were taken to judge the size and the origin of the fluid-filled sac.

Due to drugs administered to lower pressure inside his eye, Chandu’s heart rate went down, making any prolonged procedure under general anesthesia impossible.

After mulling over the various lines of treatment, a novel approach of chemically shrinking the sac with a very fine needle in an ultra-short stitchless procedure was chosen. Soon after the “keyhole” surgery, not only did the eye pressure come down, but his vision improved.

In six weeks’ time, Chandu’s vision was fully restored. The sac shrunk and the pressure of his left eye became normal. Suraj and Radha were relieved Chandu was cured and now back in school. SEF’s staff and doctors have helped many families like Suraj and Radha to restore vision to their loved ones. Our doctors and staff in each hospital take pride in helping our patients selflessly and give them the best gift of all, the gift of vision.

The Nationally renowned Shanmughananda Sabha of Mumbai and its Health Care Division awarded the Ruby Healthcare Excellence Award to Dr. R. V. Ramani on 23rd of March 2015 at a gala function commemorating the Ruby Jubilee of the Mumbai’s esteemed philanthropic organization.

Bharat Ratna Dr. Abdul Kalam was the Chief Guest and he fondly recollected his earlier visit to SEF’s Mission Head Quarters at Coimbatore and complimented them for the yeomen service to society.

Mr. V. Shankar, Chairman of Shanmughananda Sabha exclaimed, “The quantum of servicesrendered by Sankara are mind boggling and defy common understanding. There is no denying that Dr. Ramani’s visionary leadership has helped spread the Institution and its activities far and wide. The history of eye care in our Country can never be complete without generous encomiums for the services rendered by Dr. Ramani and Dr. Radha Ramani.”

RUBY HEALTH CARE AWARD

Chemical Shrinkage of Iris Cyst

Pre-Operative:Only perception of light

Post-Operative:20/20 normal vision

SEF has been fortunate to have received two awards at the hands of the legend himself. Dr. Kalam was not only the greatest visionary but an inspiration to all. He spoke highly of the services of Sankara Eye Foundation on more than one occasion. A befitting tribute to him would be to strive harder to reach our goal. All of us at SEF hope that his ‘wings of fire’ continue to inspire us and we are able to achieve great heights. He will live in our memories forever.

Our Tribute to Dr. Abdul Kalam

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PAY IT FORWARD: GIFT OF SIGHT FROM LITTLE TWINKLERS

In the first of its kind gesture and laying the foundation for many such acts, the children of Coimbatore have shown the profound impact a humble piggy bank can achieve. The children of the members of Ladies Circle 16 and Round Table 31 in Coimbatore pooled and donated their valuable savings for a worthwhile cause, giving vision and thereby hope to a visually-impaired child.

Kesavan, a 12-year-old boy, had been suffering from head and neck cancer. Hailing from a modest background, his family had to literally scrape out their meager savings for his treatment. Their happiness at his beating cancer was short-lived, as his vision soon deteriorated.

“When Kesavan came to us, we realized that he had cataract in both his eyes as a result of radiation treatment that he had received for his cancer. He suffered from blurred vision due to cataract,” says Dr. Rajesh Prabhu, Chief Consultant - Pediatric Ophthalmology, Sankara Eye Hospital, Coimbatore.

“As we were planning his surgery, we came to know about the financial constraints in the family with his mother being the sole breadwinner. It was around that time that we were approached by Coimbatore City Round Table 31 and Ladies Circle 16. Guided by their parents, the 10 little ‘Twinklers, aged 2 to 14 years, wished to donate their savings to support the surgery of a child with cataract. With their help, we were able to operate and place intraocular lens (artificial lens) in both his eyes. Post-surgery, he is doing well and his vision has improved significantly in both eyes.”

After the surgery, there was an emotional union of the children and Kesavan. Kesavan’s family profusely thanked the children, their parents, Dr. Prabhu and the support staff of Sankara Eye Hospital, Coimbatore for helping them in their hour of need. While Dr. Prabhu enlightened the children about the impact of their kind gesture, Mr. Bharath Balasubramaniam, President, Sankara Eye Hospital, shared with them the numerous joys of giving. As a parting gift, the children, along with the support of the staff, presented Kesava with his own new piggy bank, so that he too could save and help the needy.

Gaining inspiration from the little Twinklers, we too can pledge to help restore sight and thereby provide hope to all those children suffering from visual problems.

Sudheer Chemudugunta has been a volunteer with SEF since 2006. He has helped with fundraising for new hospital construction.

Sudheer came to know about SEF through his brother, Karun, and sister-in-law, Swapna. He has had a desire since childhood to do something good for society. He started by attending an SEF event and sending an email requesting more information. Murali Krishnamurthy, called him personally and invited him to attend a meeting and join the core fundraising team for the Bangalore hospital, which was completed two years later in 2008. The cause and support of other dedicated SEF volunteers motivated Sudheer to continue volunteering with SEF.

Sudheer is very fortunate that his wife, Babitha, also volunteers with SEF. In addition, Sudheer’s daughter Diya (5), has been attending SEF meetings and events since she was a baby. She was always curious about the meetings and asked her parents why they attended and what they were discussing. When she learned a little about SEF, she said, “I want to help people.” Then Babitha gave her the idea of collecting money using a kiddy bank and giving it to SEF. After that, she started collecting coins for her kiddy bank. Whenever, Sudheer and Babitha took her shopping, she requested them to use cash instead of credit card because she knew that the cashier would give coins as change in return. At the 2015 Annual Volunteer Meeting, Diya donated her kiddy bank towards the new capital project, Focus-Hyderabad, as the first donation of the project, making Sudheer very proud of her.

Sudheer is very optimistic about the future of SEF and its goal of establishing 20 Sankara Eye Hospitals throughout India. He has a special message to all of our donors, “A big Thank You to all donors for supporting SEF and please keep spreading the word for the great cause. We promise to keep working on our mission until we reach our goal.”

SEF VOLUNTEER PROFILE

Diya donating her kiddy bank to SEF

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“CLOWNING WITH CANCER”

On a bright Saturday evening, I walked into a room full of familiar and non-familiar faces, and a vibe crossed my path, a vibe one would only notice at a family gathering. Small children played around cheerfully, preparations were being made for speakers to take the stage, last minute decorations and introductions flew across the room. The energy and exuberance spoke volumes about how the latter part of the evening would turn out to be.

The event in context is the Volunteer Appreciation Dinner that was held by Sankara Eye Foundation on Saturday, April 25th, in Sunnyvale, California. A stark camaraderie was clearly visible among members of all age groups. It wasn’t so much about the non-profit, as it was about the volunteers.

A speech from our Chairman, Murali Krishnamurthy, set the momentum going. What followed was a series of anecdotes and stories of motivation. An

Bangalore May 15, 2015: A Celebration for World Retinoblastoma Week

Four-year old Master Ganesh had a fun-filled day playing and performing activities with a clown. Balloons, pastries and face painting rounded off the eventful afternoon. This was no regular summer vacation day for a school child, but a special event at Sankara Eye Hospital with 20 children who had been treated for retinoblastoma, a cancer of the eye.

Retinoblastoma is thought to affect 1 in 20,000 live births and is the third most common cancerous tumor affecting children and infants. Dr. P. Mahesh Shanmugam, Head of Vitreoretinal Services and Ocular Oncology, explained “Retinoblastoma is a cancer that often presents as a white reflex in the pupil of the eye (cat’s eye like appearance) or as a squint. Early diagnosis and improved treatment modalities help in saving lives and preserving visual function.”

The Naraindas Morbai Budhrani Trust Sankara Ocular Oncology Centre is a state-of-the-art, comprehensive cancer treatment centre and is first of its kind in Karnataka. Over the past six years, 210 children have been treated for eye cancers. Commemorating World Retinoblastoma Week, Sankara Eye Hospital, Bangalore brought together some of the children treated at the Centre.

The event was supported by “Surya For Life” – a volunteer initiative that supports eye care activities of Sankara. “It is a pleasure to raise support for Sankara, as you can see the money is being used to

serve the community. I am thrilled of the impact my small contribution has made to the lives of these children.” - Surya For Life volunteer.

“This is the second year we are celebrating life with these cancer survivors. It is wonderful to bring a smile into the lives of these children and their parents who have fought various odds, and to see the joy of the doctors at Sankara,” shared Harish Bhuvan, Founder of Compassionate Clowns, which has a mission of spreading love and laughter with compassion.

Dr. Shanmugam added “Initially retinoblastoma is confined to the eye. But if left untreated, it may spread to other parts of the body. The disease may result in loss of vision, eye or even the life of the affected child. Once the retinoblastoma is diagnosed, the onus lies on saving the child’s life, eye and then the vision.”

SEF VOLUNTEER MEET: TWIGS STRENGTHEN THE ROOTS -- Sneha Singh Mahecha

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Sankara Eye Foundation, India, the largest community eye care network in India, along with Fullerton, one of the leading non-banking financial companies in India, opened Koval Sankara Vision Care Centre at Dharapuram in Tirupur District of Tamil Nadu.

The Centre will provide the entire circle of eye care at the doorstep of rural India through a unique link-up with Sankara Eye Foundation, India’s base hospital at Coimbatore using one-of-its-kind, Tele-Ophthalmology Technology.

Every patient that requires advanced consultation will be assessed and offered treatment advice via web media by an ophthalmologist at the base hospital. Additionally, Media Informations Systems technology will enable every patient visiting the vision centre to be a part of the overall hospital care system.

Commenting on the association, Dr. R. V. Ramani, Founder & Managing Trustee, Sankara Eye Foundation, India said “It is a pity that in developed countries like India where 85% of the blinding conditions are preventable and curable with cost effective measures, the rural poor still go blind. With a Vision Center located near the rural area, Sankara hopes to bridge the last mile challenge of provision of eye care by being a part of Fullerton India’s initiative. This partnership will help us add a route to our growing set of vision care services for rural India.”

As Sankara aims to offer better eye care to the under-privileged sections of society, this project aims at providing comprehensive primary eye care services to the rural patients in Tirupur with a focus on early detection, referral and appropriate treatment. Kovai Sankara Vision Care Centre will allay the socio -economic and psychological distress that befalls the blind and the visually-impaired. People identified to be in need of advanced eye care will be referred to the tertiary hospital in Coimbatore. In addition, the vision centre will implement preventive screening programs for underprivileged children.

SANKARA ADOPTS TELEHEALTH TO SCALE RURAL HEALTHCARE

interesting anecdote that motivated one of the members enough to continue helping in the noble cause was narrated with ardent fervor. He received a certificate written by the patient himself, thanking him for the contribution. The evening was full of such stories and hearing them was a surreal experience. It is no surprise that this noble cause pioneered by some exemplary people, at the helm of affairs, is largely a volunteer-run organization. Forming the backbone of SEF, they are known to pull off large scale events on their own. The mark of success lies in the fact that there were generations of a family present at the meet, each one equally enthusiastic as the other. The jewel in the crown was narrated by one volunteer about how one of SEF’S oldest volunteers (88), who is very devoted to the cause, belonged to his family.

The uniqueness of this program is unparallel. No demands are made. The foundation has been instrumental in opening 1.3 million eyes and this gathering was proof of what perseverance, belief and strength can do. We have always known roots to provide strength to trees; Sankara Eye Foundation is an organization where its many twigs are its strength.

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Cooked Eggs Improve Absorption of Eye-Healthy Nutrients in Raw Vegetables June 2015 — Do you eat enough raw veggies? Most people don’t. But not only should you add more salad to your diet, you should also consider eating eggs with it. In a study by Purdue University researchers, 16 young men ate three versions of a salad containing tomatoes, carrots, romaine lettuce, baby spinach and Chinese wolfberries (also called goji berries). One version had no egg; the second version had one and a half scrambled whole eggs; and the third had three scrambled whole eggs.

Eating the cooked eggs increased the absorption from three to nine-fold of the carotenoids in the vegetables, including beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, lycopene, lutein and zeaxanthin. (The egg yolks also contain lutein and zeaxanthin.) Many carotenoids are considered eye health boosters.

We are pleased to announce the launch of Focus Hyderabad to serve the folks in Telangana. We will establish a 200 bed Sankara Eye Hospital in Hyderabad, that will mirror the capabilities of the other successful hospitals launched and operated by SEF. The Sankara Eye Hospital, Hyderabad will serve the rural poor (in a 150km radius) in Telangna and will have the capacity to perform 25,000 free eye surgeries annually.

A key milestone in every Sankara project is finalizing the land for the hospital. We require around 2 to 3 acres of land in and around Hyderabad, and are looking to obtain the land by December 2015. We are making a special appeal to our donors - to share information on potential land, available for sale by their friends or relatives in Hyderabad. Any and all assistance from donors on this is deeply appreciated. Please contact SEF at info@giftofvision.org and help accelerate the progress of Focus Hyderabad.

Hyderabad

SEEKING LAND IN OR NEAR HYDERABAD, TELANGANA

JOIN Focus Hyderabad and Focus Indore Teams

and help us build our next hospital

Info@giftofvision.org

DONATEOpen an Eye a Month for $30 a month!

Or become a Founding Donor and leave a lasting legacy!

www.giftofvision.org

WAYS YOU CAN HELP... BECOME A VOLUNTEER!Join one of the local teams or start your own team

EYE 2 EYE KNOWLEDGE NUGGET: EGGS FOR EYE HEALTH

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Capital Funding (Hospital Construction)

$20,000+ Facility Room Donor – Sponsor a room and get a personalized plaque at the hospital of your choice. Please contact SEF Office at 1-866-SANKARA (726-5272) for more information.

$10,000 Founding Donor and get your name(s) inscribed on the “Platinum Wall of Founders”

$5,000 Founding Donor and get your name(s) inscribed on the “Golden Wall of Founders”

$1,000 Founding Donor and get your name(s) inscribed on the “Wall of Founders”

Other $ ________________________

Choose the Capital Project

Hyderabad, Telangana Indore, Madhya Pradesh Name Another Hospital: ___________________

Special request – e.g. Donation in name of:

Cataract Surgeries/Food for Patients $3,000 Open 100 Eyes (100 Cataract Surgeries)

$1,500 Open an Eye a Week for One Year (50 Cataract Surgeries)

$360 Open an Eye a Month for One Year (12 Cataract Surgeries)

$90 Open Three Eyes (3 Cataract Surgeries)

$30 Open an Eye (One Cataract Surgery)

$200 Food for the Patients

Other $_______________

Scan to Donate Online

You can sponsor the surgery on a special day like birthday or anniversary. Please let us know and where possible, and we will try and accommodate your request:

Payment:

Amount: $___________ Check (Payable to Sankara Eye Foundation) Credit Card (Visa/Master/Amex) Credit Card # ________________________________________ Exp Date: _____/_____ CVV _________ (Call SEF office at 1-866-SANKARA for installment plans) (CCV: 3-digit code on the back)

First Name: ______________________ Last Name: _________________ Spouse: ___________________

Address: __________________________________________________________________

City: _______________________________ State: ______________ Zip: ______________

Phone #: ________________________ Email: ____________________________________

Signature: _________________________________________ Date: ____/____/_______

My employer will match my donation. Employer: _________________________________________ Online Donation: www.giftofvision.org Car Donation: email to cargiving@yahoo.com

Stocks, Payroll, Bank Transaction etc: contact SEF at info@giftofvision.org or 1-866-SANKARA (726-5272)

How did you hear about us? Newspaper/Magazine: ______________________ TV: ____________________

Online (Samachar.com, Sulekha.com):________________________ Other: ___________________________

Donation Form

Mail to: Sankara Eye Foundation, 1900 McCarthy Blvd. # 302, Milpitas, CA 95035

1-866-SANKARA (726-5272) Fax: 408-456-0790 Email: info@giftofvision.org NL062015

I would like

to volunteer

DONATION FORM

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NON-PROFIT ORG

U.S. POSTAGEPAID

SAN JOSE. CAPERMIT NO. 437

Sankara Eye Foundation1900 McCarthy Blvd. Suite 302

Milpitas, CA 95035

1-866-SANKARA1-866-726-5272www.giftofvision.orgFAX 1-408-456-0790

Distributed By:SEF, USA1900 McCarthy Blvd#302Milpitas, CA 950351-866-SANKARAwww.giftofvision.org

EIN: 77-6141976

Board Members:Anil LalC N Srivatasan Divyogi PatelK SridharanPadma ParthasarathySundar Radhakrishnan

Executive Chairman:Murali Krishnamurthy

Edited by:Hema ChamrajMurali KrishnamurthyParthiv DoshiPooja GuptaSagar PatelSmita PatelSneha Singh Mahecha

Contributors from India:Bharath Balasubramaniam Dr. Kaushik Murali, M.D.Dr. Pooja Sanghvi

Join Our CommunityLearn & share the word about our cause!

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If you would like to receive your SEF Newsletter via email, please send an email to GoGreen@giftofvision.org. Please include your donor ID and full name as seen on mailing address.

Let’s Go Green!

Please update your informationSend us your updated email addresses, phone numbers

and mailing address, if you have moved.Email: Info@giftofvision.org or 1-866-SANKARA (726-5272)