Sightsavers truly appreciates your thoughtful contribution. Since 1966, we have been striving to eliminate avoidable blindness and support people who are irreversibly blind or disabled lead a life of independence and dignity in India. You have been a significant part of this journey, enabling us to perform more than 36.5 million eye treatments and carry out over 5 million eye operations in the last five decades.
We believe that nobody should go blind unnecessarily as blindness is a significant cause and effect of poverty. In India, there are 40 million visually impaired and 8 million blind people. In 2017 alone, with your support and encouragement we were able to carry out 41, 21, 804 eye screenings of people across 13 states of India. Over 2 lakh people were able to see the world clearly with sight restoration surgeries in the last year.
Earlier in 2017, our honorary brand Ambassador and internationally acclaimed actor Sri Kabir Bedi travelled to Jharkhand to witness the work Sightsavers does and communicate about it through a film. I am happy to present a small documentary titled ‘A Beautiful Tomorrow’ wherein Sri Kabir Bedi will take you all through a journey of what we do in the arenas of eye health, inclusive education and social inclusion—Sightsavers three core areas of work.
There are many more like little Aliyas who are able to continue their education owing to your contribution. Over 65,000 teachers were trained in 2017 to educate children on the importance of eye health, and mainstreaming visually impaired and blind children into schools. Preventing blindness, educational support for irreversibly blind children and livelihood training for disabled adults increases the chances of gaining meaningful employment and enables greater participation in civil, social and political life.
A heartfelt thank you from Sightsavers and the many millions we serve with your constant support.