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Emotional families

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.

Stories Of Impact

$50 cost of surgery

98% success rate

3 days to restore vision

Why should anyone live

life needlessly blind ?

Tears of joy!

Tears of Joy!

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.

A proud father!

A proud father!

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.

Maaji, dekh sakte ho?

Maaji, dekh sakte ho?

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.

Vision 2030: March To A Million

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!

USA performs 14,000 surgeries per million population

India performs 6,000 surgeries per million population. Our goal is to more than double our capacity to match developed countries such as the USA

Donate Now

25+ Years Of Building The World’s Largest Free Eye Surgery Program

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.

our hospitals

29 Hospitals across India

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

14 States covered

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.

our strength

500 Million+

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.

March To A Million - Milestones

2028

Build/expand hospitals to increase capacity to

1 million free eye surgeries per year

700,000

Free capacity

2024-25*

2030

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.

March To A Million: A Race Against Time

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, Mathura

Kalyanam Karoti Eye Institute, Mathura

Planned Vision 2030 impact 30,000


Annual Capacity: 50,000

Inaugurated: January 2025

R.J. Sankara, Varanasi

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

H.V.Desai Eye Hospital, Solapur

Annual Capacity: 20,000

Planned Vision 2030 impact 20,000


Inauguration: 2025

Kalyanam Karoti, Mathura

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.

Shankarseth Sabale Eye Hospital, Solapur

Annual Capacity: 20,000

Planned Vision 2030 impact 20,000


Inauguration: 2025.

Kalyanam Karoti, Mathura

Annual Capacity: 50,000


Planned Vision 2030 impact 50,000


Inauguration: 2023

Your Support Is Crucial In The March To A Million Journey

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 NOW

Become 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 NOW

Be a Vision Champion

Give recurring donations

to support our March to a Million

DONATE NOW

$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.

Vision Superheroes - Together, We March To A Million

Vision Superheroes

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

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

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. Parvez Billimoria

Mr. Ramesh Ganatra

SEF, USA Donor

Ramesh and Uma Ganatra Family Foundation donates $1 Million and pledges an additional $1 million.

Mr. Parvez Billimoria

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.

Humans of Sankara

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.

Dr. R. V. Ramani

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.

Mr. Mritunjay Tiwari

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!

Mr. Parvez Billimoria

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.

Mr. Parvez Billimoria

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.

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.

Events

Your participation supports our ‘March to a Million’.

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