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In India, millions of rural underprivileged live life needlessly blind. Unable to do even their basic daily tasks by themselves they suffer financially and emotionally. And so do their families.
It’s tragic, because there is a solution to being needlessly blind – a simple eye surgery. It’s quick. It’s free. And it’s effective.
For the person, the difference is life-changing – going from darkness
to light!
Experts know that the solution has to be applied at scale, because every passing year millions more join the ranks of the needlessly blind. When the need is in ten million surgeries annually, doing tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands, is just not enough.
As the world's largest free eye-care program, we are the vanguards of the movement. But the need is much, much more! And we cannot close our eyes to that reality. As we gear up to serve millions more every year, we need your support NOW more than ever before.
$50 cost of surgery
98% success rate
3 days to restore vision
Why should anyone live
life needlessly blind ?
23-year-old Pinky sat weeping at the Government Community Service Centre, Mahadaleshwar in Madhya Pradesh as she awaited further instructions from the Sankara optometrist.
Shanker is the proud father of little Chhoti Kumari, a 13-year-old smart Math genius. Chhoti loves biking and acing her math exams in school. But all this became a distant reality when, last year, she started losing her eyesight.
For someone who had thought she had gone permanently blind, Sabra Khatun, from one of the most impoverished villages in remote Bihar, was surprised when she made her first journey till the eye camp.
Our Vision 2030 - March to a Million goal is to provide One Million free eye surgeries annually by 2030.
It is an audacious goal, agreed. However, the urgent need to bring light to the lives of those suffering from curable blindness is undeniable.
To achieve our goal, we need to build capacity for one million surgeries by 2028. Today, within our network of 29 hospitals in 14 states, we have a capacity for over 700,000 free eye surgeries annually.
With your support, we can lead a million people and more from darkness into light – every year.
Working together, WE CAN!
We are the world’s largest free eye surgery program with the support of 60,000+ donors, 1000+ doctors and medical staff, and 1000+ volunteers.
Hospitals across India
Our network of 29 hospitals in 14 states has a capacity for 700,000 free eye surgeries annually. Between 2023 and 2025, we launched six hospital projects - both new and expansions. Two more, in Guntur and Solapur, are slated for inauguration this year.
States covered
SEF, USA covers some of the most populous states of India – Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, UP, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal.
Population covered in India
Our rural outreach programs serve people of all ages in the states where we operate. Patients in villages are identified for treatment, provided surgery and post-operative care, and then taken back home —all free of cost.
Build/expand hospitals to increase capacity to
1 million free eye surgeries per year
700,000
Free capacity
2024-25*
Scale operations to perform
1 million free eye surgeries per year
447,000
Free eye surgeries
2024-25*
Consider this: A million free surgeries a year means
two free surgeries per minute, every minute, all year round.
2024 - refers to Fiscal Year 2024-25 (Apr 1, 2024-Mar 31, 2025). Similarly, for all-year references.
We are well on our way, having launched six new hospital projects since 2023 with plans to inaugurate two more in 2025.
This has increased our annual free surgery capacity to 700,000.
Kalyanam Karoti Eye Institute, Mathura
Planned Vision 2030 impact 30,000
Annual Capacity: 50,000
Inaugurated: January 2025
R.J. Sankara Eye Hospital, Varanasi
Annual Capacity: 30,000
Planned Vision 2030 impact 30,000
Inaugurated: October 2024
H.V.Desai Eye Hospital, Solapur
Annual Capacity: 20,000
Planned Vision 2030 impact 20,000
Inauguration: 2025
Sankara Eye Hospital, Guntur
Planned Vision 2030 impact 30,000
Annual Capacity: 60,000
Inauguration: 2025
H.V. Desai Eye Hospital, Pune
Annual Capacity: 55,000
Planned Vision 2030 impact 55,000
Inaugurated (Expansion) - 2023
R.J. Sankara, Varanasi
Annual Capacity: 30,000
Planned Vision 2030 impact 30,000
Inauguration: October 2024.
Open an Eye
Support free eye surgeries.
Help patients regain sight.
$600 Open an eye a month
$2,500 Open an eye a week
DONATE NOWBecome a Founding Donor
Donate to build or expand
a hospital of your choice
$1,000 Wall of Founders
$5,000 Golden Wall of Founders
$10,000 Platinum Wall of Founders
DONATE NOWBe a Vision Champion
Give recurring donations
to support our March to a Million
$2,000 Every Year for 5 Years
$5,000 Every Year for 5 Years
$10,000 Every Year for 5 Years
To donate a facility or an entire wing, please contact us for personalised recommendations.
Hear from our Vision Superheroes, our partners and donors who have gone above and beyond to Give the Gift of Vision.
Dr. R. V. Ramani
Founder and Managing Trustee of
Sankara Eye Foundation
Padma Shri awardee Dr. R.V. Ramani is a visionary who has established world-class free eye-care for those in need.
Mr. Mritunjay Tiwari
Founder and Chairman of
Akhand Jyoti Eye Hospitals
Mritunjay Tiwari's presence itself is an inspiration to the thousands of people who have had the fortune of meeting him, knowing him, and learning from him.
Mr. Ramesh Ganatra
SEF, USA Donor
Ramesh and Uma Ganatra Family Foundation donates $1 Million and pledges an additional $1 million.
Mr. Parvez Billimoria
Executive Director
H V Desai Eye Hospital
Pervez Billimoria, the Executive Director of HV Desai Eye Hospital, Pune has taken the Vision 2030 March to a Million pledge.
Sankara Eye Foundation, USA’s Vision 2030: March to a Million is being made possible by the contribution of donors, volunteers, doctors, nurses, hospital staff, and camp workers, among others. This page is dedicated to each of those who form the pillars of the mission to eliminate curable blindness in India.
Football to Eyeball
Don’t leave him. Tackle. To your Left. Pass. GOALLLLLL!!! Loud cheers erupted the otherwise peaceful morning at this football field where the “Girls in Red” played against the local boys of a remote village in Bihar.
A Band of Nurses
It takes a village to raise a child, and an army of medical professionals to run a hospital! And when it's Sankara Hospitals, we ensure no stone is left unturned. Because with Sankara, it's not just medical services offered. Often it's also learning a new language!
A Government Messiah
An institution as large as Sankara Eye Hospitals cannot perform on its own. It is a whole of many many parts made up of its donors, volunteers, employees, partners, vendors, associates, grassroot workers and most of all the government.
Dr Rajesh Kapse
What does it take to be a doctor to hundreds of patients who cannot pay for your services? “I learn more from them than I can impart”, says Dr Rajesh Kapse, Head of the Medical Department at R Jhunjhunwala Sankara Hospital, Panvel in Maharsahtra.
Don’t leave him. Tackle. To your Left. Pass. GOALLLLLL!!! Loud cheers erupted the otherwise peaceful morning at this football field where the “Girls in Red” played against the local boys of a remote village in Bihar.
It takes a village to raise a child, and an army of medical professionals to run a hospital! And when it's Sankara Hospitals, we ensure no stone is left unturned. Because with Sankara, it's not just medical services offered. Often it's also learning a new language!
An institution as large as Sankara Eye Hospitals cannot perform on its own. It is a whole of many many parts made up of its donors, volunteers, employees, partners, vendors, associates, grassroot workers and most of all the government.
Your participation supports our ‘March to a Million’.
Sankara Eye Foundation, USA
Making the world brighter, together.
Sankara Eye Foundation, USA
1900 McCarthy Blvd #207
Milpitas, CA 95035
info@giftofvision.org
1-866-726-5272
Every donation will give the Gift of Vision to a person in need.
TAX ID: 77-6141976
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