2006 Annual ReportUnite For Sight Provides 800 Surgeries in Chennai
Unite For Sight, Uma Eye Clinic, and Vision Foundation work year-round in Chennai, India to provide eye care to rural villages in the region. Unite For Sight sends volunteer teams to assist Uma Eye Clinic with screening for operable cataracts in rural villages and bring those with cataracts to the eye clinic for surgery. The volunteers also participate in school screening programs, and pursue research projects under the guidance and direction of ophthalmologists at the clinic.
Since Unite For Sight's presence began in Chennai, Uma Eye Clinic has increased four-fold the number of poor patients receiving free eye care. During Summer 2007, Unite For Sight coordinated and sponsored 800 free phacoemulsification cataract surgeries for the Chennai patients. During the same time period, Unite For Sight sent 46 volunteers to assist Uma Eye Clinic's optometrists and ophthalmologists, who provide eye care in rural villages.
"I would like to sincerely congratulate Unite For Sight for her work on eradication of Blindness in the developing countries. The remarkable performance of Unite For Sight deserves appreciation," said Dr. T. Senthil, MBBS, DO, FICO, Consultant Ophthalmologist at Uma Eye Clinic and Coordinator for Unite For Sight Programs in Chennai. He added "By partnering with Vision Foundation and Uma Eye Clinic, Unite For Sight touches the lives of poor people by providing them access to comprehensive eye care facilities, providing free spectacles, and funding for medicines and top of the line Cataract Surgery called as Phacoemulsification to the poor people."
About Unite For Sight
Unite For Sight® is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that empowers communities worldwide to improve eye health and eliminate preventable blindness. Local and visiting volunteers work with partner eye clinics to provide eye care in communities without previous access, with the goal of creating eye disease-free communities. Additionally, vision screening and education programs are implemented worldwide by volunteers working in ninety chapters established at universities in North America, Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
For further information:
Unite For Sightwww.uniteforsight.org
Email: JStaple@uniteforsight.org