Himalayan Cataract Project, Inc., Waterbury, United Stateshttp://www.cureblindness.org
Target: £25,453.00
Raised so far: £28,365.00
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Himalayan Cataract Project, Inc., Waterbury, United Stateshttp://www.cureblindness.org
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A remote outreach eye camp will screen between 1,000 and 5,000 patients and restore sight to approximately 200 to 800 people in Nepal, Tibet, China, Bhutan or Northern India through cataract surgery.
The World Health Organization estimates that 180 million people suffer from severe visual impairment (legally blind, by U.S. standards). The leading cause of blindness throughout the world is cataracts and 90% of this blindness is found in the developing world. A remote cataract surgery eye camp will restore sight to approximately 300 people in Nepal, Tibet, China, Bhutan or Northern India. Currently the project supports ten remote eye camps per year.
A team from the Tilganga Eye Centre in Kathmandu, Nepal, will travel to a remote site, screen patients for cataracts and perform free surgery to those who need it. The Tilganga team also works with local medical personnel to provide further training.
The suffering caused by blindness deeply affects the family of each unfortunate, blinded individual, especially in the Himalayas. With restored sight, many people return to work and to traditional roles in their families and societies.
Beth O'Grady
Hetauda Community Eye Hospital (HCEH) in Nepal organized an outreach microscopic eye clinic in April. Patients were screened from five different locations, and 335 surgeries were performed. Himalayan Cataract Project Co-Directors Dr. Sanduk Ruit and Dr. Geoff Tabin, as well as Dr. Sanjita Sharma and Dr. Rachana Singh Rana from HCEH performed the surgeries.
HCEH is located in Southern Nepal and is a non-profit, sister organization of Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology, which is also supported by the Himalayan Cataract Project. Through outreach microscopic eye clinics we are able to reach people in rural areas who would normally not have the ability to travel to the hospitals for treatment. By providing these outreach clinics, HCP is able to reach the most needy patients and provide high quality care, no matter their location or ability to pay.
Beth OGrady
Doctors Angira Shrestha and Sanjita Sharma managed a two-day cataract workshop at the Hetauda Community Eye Hospital in Nepal. A total of 819 patients were screened and 157 cataract operations were provided. Among the patients was Binu Maya Chepang a resident of Kakada VDC Makwanpur. Binu walked for seven hours to come to the workshop and receive treatment. She is now cataract free and her vision has been restored.
Doctors Geoff Tabin and Huck Holz worked with partners from Gondar University Hospital in Ethiopia to manage a high-volume cataract workshop at Debre-Tabor Hospital. During the workshop, 629 surgeries were provided including 13 pediatric cataract surgeries. Over the next year, HCP will be working to enhance the ophthalmology teaching programs at Gondar, with a focus on residency and sub-specialty fellowship training.
Beth O'Grady
In October, the Himalayan Cataract Project (HCP) held two remote eye camps in Nepal, one in Hetauda and another in Phaplu.
HCP Co-Directors Drs. Geoff Tabin and Sanduk Ruit visited the Hetauda Community Eye Hospital and helped in an outreach microsurgical eye clinic. Affiliated Ophthalmologist Dr. Alan Crandall also participated, along with Hetauda ophthalmologists Drs. Pratibha Lama Joshi and Angira Shrestha.
A total of 1,200 patients were screened and 247 cataract surgeries were provided.
Following Hetauda, Drs. Tabin and Crandall, together with partners from the District Community Eye Center, Solu Hospital, Nepal Red Cross Society and Himalayan Health and Environment Services, HCP and Tilganga, managed a two-day high-volume surgical event at the Phaplu Community Eye Center in honor of World Sight Day. 1,551 patients were screened and 92 cataract surgeries were provided to people from Solukhumbu, Okhaldhunga and Khotang.
Tilamaya Bishwokarma, a 70 year old woman in Nepal, lost her sight more than a year and a half ago. Unable to receive treatment in her remote village, Tilamaya was carried to Phaplu to receive cataract surgery. After her successful cataract surgery she stated, "I never thought I would see this day."
Pamela Clapp
Bishnu Maya Thami, a 51-year-old female from a rural village in Nepal, was blind for two years before arriving at the Dolakha Eye Center in May 2012. Before her sight was restored, Bishnu Maya was completely dependent on her daughter-in-law and neighbors. Through an outreach event, Bishu had her sight restored by a team from Tilganga - HCP's flagship training center.
Since November 2010, when HCP committed essential funds allowing Tilganga to take over the eye center’s management, more than 10,500 patients have benefited from its services. Tilganga’s clinical staff travels to Dolakha four times a year to perform outreach surgical events restoring sight to patients like Bishnu who wouldn’t be able to make the trip to Kathmandu and who would otherwise have no access to eye care.
Marie Gakuba
Himalayan Cataract Project Co-Directors Dr. Geoff Tabin and Dr. Sanduk Ruit and a team from the Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology (TIO) managed an outreach event at the Dolakha Lions Community Eye Center (DLEC), located in the mountainous district of Janakpur, Nepal. This OMEC was conducted by Tilganga Institute of Opthalmology with the support of Himalayan Cataract Project.
Prior to the OMEC, a team from DLEC conducted eight screening eye camps in the different areas examining a total of 1,751 patients and selecting 174 for cataract surgery. All patients were asked to put antibiotic eye drops in both eyes a day before their scheduled surgery.
After the surgery, patients were for 1 to 2 days for follow-up. On the first day, dressing was done and medicine was used frequently as per doctor’s prescription. Most patients were discharged on the second day after taking post-operative visual acuity test and after receiving instructions on how to care of their eyes. A few patients with complicated cases were kept till the third day for observation and treatment.
Marie Gakuba
Jomgon Kontrol Eye Center (JKEC) is one of HCP sponsored eye centers located in Kalimpong, India. The center’s outreach program conducts outreach eye camps twice every month. Last month, the outreach team set out for an eye camp in Central Dooars an area with a high percentage of cataract patients. They shared the story of one of the camp's patient.
Pinki Mahali is a 46 years old, single mother whose alcoholic and abusive husband left by herself to look after their 7 years old daughter. She was determined to make a living without any help from her husband until she developed cataracts in both eyes. Losing her sight was a huge setback for her as it became difficult for her to earn a living and support her daughter. That was until she was referred to JKEC for surgery. After the removal of the eye patch she regained her confidence and she is now ready to work again and look after her daughter.
On behalf of all the patients receiving care in outreach eye camps, thank you for your support.
Pam Clapp
For the second time this year, Dr. Govinda Paudel and a team from the Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology in Nepal traveled to Jagadguru Kripalu Charity Hospital, Uttar Pradesh (UP), a remote location in India, to manage a cataract workshop in conjunction with local ophthalmologists. A total of 501 cataract surgeries were provided.
HCP has supported work in the UP since 2007, and each year the number of cataract surgeries provided at the outreach workshops has increased. HCP has committed to adding two additional high-volume cataract workshops in 2012 in India due to the great need.
Marie A. Gakuba
Photos from an Outreach Microsurgical Eye Clinic at a Himalayan Cataract Project supported Solu Community Eye Centre located in Phaplu, Nepal.
Marie Gakuba
Himalayan Cataract Project Co-Directors Dr. Geoff Tabin and Dr. Sanduk Ruit and a team from the Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology (TIO) managed an outreach event at the Dolakha Lions Community Eye Center (DLEC), located in the mountainous district of Janakpur, Nepal. This OMEC was conducted by Tilganga Institute of Opthalmology with the support of Himalayan Cataract Project.
Prior to the OMEC, a team from DLEC conducted eight screening eye camps in the different areas examining a total of 1,751 patients and selecting 174 for cataract surgery. All patients were asked to put antibiotic eye drops in both eyes a day before their scheduled surgery.
After the surgery, patients were for 1 to 2 days for follow-up. On the first day, dressing was done and medicine was used frequently as per doctor’s prescription. Most patients were discharged on the second day after taking post-operative visual acuity test and after receiving instructions on how to care of their eyes. A few patients with complicated cases were kept till the third day for observation and treatment.
Marie A. Gakuba
Dear Friends,
I am happy to report that we got 2011 off to a great start on our quest to restore sight to the people of the Himalayas!
Between January 17 - 19th, Dr. Bajimaya from Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology (TIO) conducted an OMEC in Manthali a village development committee in Ramechhap District in northeastern Nepal. As a result, 1597 people were screened and a total of 188 surgeries performed.
In February, Hetauda Community Eye Hospital organized eye screening programs on rural and underprivileged villages of Makawanpur district. Two screening camp were held on Epa Village Development Committee (VDC) and in Bharta VDC. Both of screening were the first health camp ever held in these villages.
208 patient were examined in Epa VDC screening camp and among them 27 cataracts were found. Similarly one 148 patients were screened in Bharta VDC and 12 cataracts were found. With the support of the Himalayan Cataract Project, Hetauda Community Eye Hospital provided free of cost surgery to all cataract patients at the base hospital. All patients returned happily after undergoing the sight-restoring procedure.
Currently, TIO's Dr. Govinda is leading a four-day OMEC at the Jagatguru Kripalu Charity Hospital in Uttar Pradesh in Northearn India. It is anticipated that at least 1800 people will be screened and an estimated 600 surgeries performed.
On behalf of the Himalayan Cataract Project, I would like to thank everyone for your continued interest in our project. It is only with your generous support that we are able to bring high quality eye care to the remotest areas of the Himalayas.
Marie A. Gakuba
Dear Friends,
2010 has been a busy year for our project. With your help, a total of 24 Eye Camps were conducted in the Nepal, Tibet, China, Bhutan, and Northern India. A total of 26,062 people were screened and out of them 5,176 received sight-restoring surgeries.
In addition, ophthalmologists and ophthalmic nurses from different countries were able to participate in these Remote Eye Camps to expand their skills in high volume cataract surgery.
I want to take this opportunity to express our sincere gratitude for your generous contributions. It is only with your continued support that we can continue the fight against curable and preventable blindness.
Happy Holidays and Best Wishes for the year 2011.
P.S. I hope you enjoy reading our 2009 Annual Report and our Best of 2010 highlights.
Marie A. Gakuba
Lunana is located on the bank of the Pho Chu River and it is the most remote region in Bhutan. It takes ten days walk from the nearest road and eight days from the district Headquarters. Lunana is made up of dispersed settlement with 150 households. Cold and harsh climate pervades throughout the year, with altitudes ranging from 7000 to over 8000 feet above sea level and mule tracks are the only access.
Lunana’s facilities, which include a school, a health center, and a livestock extension center, remain open from June to September and close by mid October due to heavy snowfall. Most of the people also migrate to lower nearby districts in search of manual work and also for barter trade with their yak products with necessary items like chilly, rice and others.
Before setting out for the outreach camp (OMEC), the team had to make additional preparations due to weather conditions as well as the geographical location of Lunana. Prior to the their departure, they made sure all the drugs and non-drugs items including the operating microscope were packed properly to ensure that they were small, portable and most importantly waterproof.
The ophthalmic team that set out for the OMEC consisted of one ophthalmologist and 3 ophthalmic technicians. The team left on the 10th August. Traveling in monsoon season brings many problems due to incessant rains leading to landslides, washed away bridges, falling boulders, and so on. After a day of travel, the team spent a day in the village of Damji where they provided eye care services to more than 100 patients.
On the third day of the journey, the team proceeded to halt at the base of mount Kangla Karchu to enable the crossing of the pass the following day. From there on, there was no downhill journey and the team climbed up hills after hills at high altitude. Traveling through incessant rains and winds in muddy and slippery stones took a toll on the travelers as well as the horses carrying the loads.
Late that evening the team arrived at a campsite where tents were pitched and arrangements made for the evening. That night, the ophthalmologist developed severe chest pain, and breathlessness, giddiness, headache nausea and vomiting and his condition further deteriorated the next day. The team decided to halt there for one day to give him time for acclimatization and at the same time stabilize his condition.
That evening, the doctor also showed sign of dehydration and general weakness. Due to difficult terrains, lack of communication, and adequate medical aids, a decision was made to transfer him back that night. While an attempt was made to travel on horse, it was not possible due to poor visibility, lack of strength to ride on horse and due to poor trail condition. The return mission was abandoned.
With intensive medications over the night and nourishing porridge, and glucose water, his condition showed improvement by sunrise. Weighing the pros and cons, he determined to proceed further. However, much of the remaining trip had to be made on horse. Upon the arrival of the team members and the medical loads, preparations were done for conducting the clinics. The operation theatre was set up with plastic sheets and fumigation.
More than 100 patients received treatment in Lunana and all school children were thoroughly evaluated for any ophthalmic problems. Those requiring vision restoring surgery were listed and received counseling while preoperative preparations were being done. A total of 18 patients received. All operations went successfully and the post-operative period was uneventful. Medications were explained and handed over to the patients with detailed instructions.
One of the aims of the trip was to follow-up on a corneal transplant patient. She had permanently lost her right eye years back from corneal trauma and ulceration. It had taken her relatives more than 10 days to carry her from Lunana to Jigme Dorji Wangchuck National Referral Hospital in Thimphu, Bhutan. Due to lack of cornea, she had to stay in the hospital for more than two months before her operation. She regained her vision and she is happily tending to yaks now. At the follow-up, she was all smiles and with deep gratitude. She was very careful and understood the importance of timely medications and follow-ups. She had functional vision and her transplant had remained clear. Her medicines were refilled and she was advised to return to the hospital for a detailed assessment.
The team’s return journey proved to be very challenging. With one bridge washed away a detour had to be made to cross a lone log bridge. Climbing the slippery cliff and reaching the log bridge proved to be very demanding and at times life threatening endeavor. After facing many difficult situations and overcoming each, the team, all returned safe and sound.
Marie A. Gakuba
On behalf of the Himalayan Cataract Project, I would like to thank you for joining us in our mission to fight curable and preventable blindness in the developing world. It is through your generous contribution that we are able to bring world-class eye care to the most remote regions of the world.
The Himalayan Cataract Project and Tilganga Institute of ophthalmology have been organizing Outreach Microsurgical Eye Clinics (OMECs) to extend eye care are services in the under served regions of Nepal and India for more than a decade.
From February 25th to 27th 2010, an OMEC was carried out at Jagadguru Kripalu Charity hospital at Managarh-UP, India. A total of 2,181 patients were examined and one doctor and five support staff performed 520 cataract surgeries.
On the 24th and 25th of March another OMEC was organized in Pakhribas in eastern Nepal. A total of 1,363 patients were examined and two surgeons performed 125 cataract surgeries.
On March 30th and 31st an OMEC was carried out in a very remote area of eastern Nepal near Kanchanjangha Mountain region. After trekking three and half days the team examined close to 1,000 patients and performed 81 cataract surgeries The Himalayan Cataract Project co-founders Dr. Geoff Tabin and Dr. Sanduk Ruit were part of the team.
Between April 20th and 22nd, Tilganga organized an OMEC in Dhobi, Ramecchap. During the two days, 554 people were screened and 89 surgeries were performed. In May, an Outreach Camp was conducted in Dolakha and after screening 408 people, 106 sight-restoring surgeries were performed.
Tilganga is planning 14 OMECs between July and December and they expect the total number of surgery to reach 3075.
Marie A. Gakuba
In response to your support, the HCP would like to express our sincere gratitude for your continued involvement with this project. We greatly appreciate your support in the past and hope that you’ll continue to join us in our efforts to eradicate preventable blindness.
Since 1994, a total of 68,174 sight-restoring surgeries were performed in various Remote Outreach Eye Camps (OMECs) in Nepal, India, Tibet, and Bhutan. In 2009, the HCP sponsored 7 OMECs in which 7,681 people were screened and 1347 sight restoring surgeries were performed. Between February 10th and 14th, 11 screening camps were conducted in central Nepal. As a result, 2,858 patients were examined and 581 cataract patients were selected. The following are stories from two patients:
Rajkali Dhanuka a 60-year-old woman from Bara District was very happy when she got her sight back. Before her surgery, she could only hear her grandson’s voice and she felt hurt because she couldn’t see him. She was very eager to see her grandson and she is now very pleased with Dr. Ruit and his team. She said " you (Dr. Ruit) are god, my house is temple and my son and grandsons are holly gods "
Mrs. Dhanamaya Pandey a 70-year-old woman from Makawanpur District used to care for local villagers’ goats and buffaloes daily. Due to her sight loss, she could not continue her work and she spent her days lying in a corner in her house. She heard the notice of the eye camp on local radio and she came to check up her eye, the screening team found cataract as the cause of her sight loss and brought her to the hospital. At first she declined surgery due to fear but after counseling she finally agreed. After surgery she said "if I had rejected surgery my life would be worst, now I am happy I can see every where and every one, I can continue my daily work."
Emily R. Newick
Please click below to see a celebration of 2006 in photographs as well as the 2005 Annual Report from Himalayan Cataract Project.
Various Photographers
Various Photographers