I,am Abraham George, from the CMC MBBS batch of 1973.

I ran and walked a Virtual London Marathon on the 27th of April 2025 in Hyde Park, in London.For the uninitiated, that is 26.2 miles about 42 km.

I'am attempting to raise £5,000 towards the salaries of two ophthalmology field workers, Arun and Manimaran, who are helping to improve eye care in the Jawadhi Hills. These young men, both from this tribal community, play a vital role in supporting local health efforts. They travel between villages, educating people about vision problems, referring patients to eye camps or the vision centre, and following up to ensure they receive the care they need. They also assist the optometrist at the vision centre and conduct school screenings and children’s summer camp, eye checks.

Despite their important work, there is currently no funding for their salaries. This fundraiser will provide two years of support, ensuring they can continue their crucial efforts in preventing avoidable blindness and improving healthcare access in the region.

On a recent visit to Vellore, Ruth Tuckwell (Friends of Vellore Charity Manager) and Thomas Pulimood (Chair of Trustees) met Arun and saw firsthand the impact of this initiative. Arun has been working as a field worker for two years. Before this, he worked as a stone mason, but due to unreliable work opportunities and his own health condition, he needed a more stable role. He is incredibly grateful to have a job that allows him to support his family and give back to his community.

By donating, you will help ensure that Arun and Manimaran can continue their invaluable work, providing essential eye care to those who need it most.

Thank you.

The photos show the health workers interacting with various age groups and engaged in screening for disability, obtaining consent for procedures and health education with children in a school making them more aware of eye health.

Manimaran, field worker, teaching children about eye health during the Summer Camp 2024

Arun screening elderly patients in the field

Mani maran getting consent for a patient identified for cataract surgery

Mani maran educating men in the village about screening

Disability screening by Mani maran

Patients gathered for transport to Schell eye for cataract surgery

Arun,disability screening in the village.

Screening for visual acuity in a school building.

Please check my updates which may include pictures. My running activities are linked through STRAVA, to show the mileage that I have covered,in preparation for this run.

The run completed on 27 April.

Fundraising continues to progress towards the 5k target. Thommen and Daniel Rajan being the most recent collaborators for this effort .Daniel (Rev Dan)with his wife has already done fundraising for the PTP Scheme through running the Malaga Marathon.Thommen shared recent pics from the Jawadhi Hills.Anu Rose can be identified although she has her back to the camera,reflecting her natural humility.She has along with her team,been central to the progress in Jawadhi Hills.Grateful thanks to Father Vinod and the Salesian priests at Don Bosco who remain good friends who want health care in the hills to improve.

Jawadhi Hills is work in progress and Ophthalmic health promotion is the theme of my effort and the 2 dedicated young men who are doing sterling work in the hills.