HCP Cure Blindness

2015 has been a year of tremendous challenge for Nepal. Since the two devastating earthquakes in April and May of last year, so much has changed, including the very landscape of Nepal itself. One thing that remains consistent are HCP’s and our partner institution’s, the Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology, commitment to reaching those who most need care. In the last quarter of 2015, Tilganga’s outreach program provided over 1,500 cataract surgeries to patients across Nepal and northern India. This includes 288 surgeries in Nuwakot and 102 surgeries Dolakha – two of most devastated regions by last year’s earthquakes. We are so proud of the TIO team. Dr. Sanduk Ruit and Tilganga’s work was also profiled, In 5 Minutes, He Lets the Blind See, by the New York Times’s Nik Kristoff . HCP is incredibly proud of Tilganga’s team.Tilganga Their resilience and work ethic is evident and despite what they have been through, they continue to provide cataract surgery to those most in need in Nepal.

Links:

• Himalayan Cataract Project
• New York Times Article, "In 5 Minutes, He Let's the Blind See"

A Himalayan Cataract Project (HCP) supported outreach was held last month in the town of Mustang in Nepal, on the border of Nepal and Tibet. The screening was organized by HCP partner institution, the Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology, as well as the District Community Eye Centre Mustang and the District Health Office Mustang.

Four screening camps were held prior to the outreach. 500 patients were screened and 52 surgeries were completed at the outreach.

One of the patients was 70 year old Phechik. Phechik works at a Buddhist monastery, and had been bilaterally blind (blind in both eyes) for the past eight years. Villagers brought her to the outreach by bike. After surgery her sight was restored, and she was able to return to her home on her own, completely unassisted.