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A Journey of 25 Years

Sankara Eye Foundation, USA was started in the San Francisco Bay Area by Murali Krishnamurthy, his brother K. Sridharan, and Ahmed Khushnood in 1998. They were motivated by Murali and Sridharan’s uncle,
P. Balasubramaniam, to support the pioneering work of Dr R.V. Ramani and Dr. Radha Ramani, founders of the Sankara Eye Foundation, India, in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.

For more than 25 years, SEF, USA has given the Gift of Vision to over 3 million of the underserved in India’s neediest districts through its network of 27 hospitals in 14 states, serving more than 444 million people nationwide. Today this is the single largest free eye surgery program in the world with the support of 60,000+ donors.

“Our goal was to run the charity efficiently, like a corporation, and at the same time build an open, grass-roots organizational culture where everyone’s voice was heard, and everyone was a stakeholder.”

- K. Sridharan

The Inspiration

In 1999, SEF, USA organized a light music concert by Pallavi, a Bay Area-based musical group co-founded by Murali, a vocalist himself. It was the first event which raised $18,000. There was no stopping after that. The success of this event, as well as promotional campaigns, attracted many supporters and volunteers to the cause. With SEF, USA’s support, SEF, India grew, both in the number of hospitals and the free eye surgeries provided.

Growth Journey

A quantum leap in the partnership between SEF, USA, and SEF, India was waiting to happen. In 2004, the second Sankara Eye Hospital was established in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, which paved the way for many more hospitals to be established in several stages across the country.

US Chapters

SEF, USA started spreading out from the Bay Area to other states with many active chapters which are all volunteer-driven. SEF, USA Board member Divyogi Patel, who had a background in organizing events, introduced big Bollywood shows that were crowd-pullers.

Partner Eye Hospitals

In 2015-16, SEF, USA began partnering with like-minded charitable eye hospitals in India to expand its footprint into underserved regions and build a network of hospitals. Board member Sundar Radhakrishnan who heads the Partner Initiative says, “We start supporting new Partner Hospitals by supporting free eye surgeries and then for facilities like Operation Theaters and community wards. We then support minor and major infrastructure expansions, and if there is a good scope then we help them build a new hospital.”

To achieve Vision 2030, they plan to add more Partner Hospitals. Towards their goal of one million free eye surgeries by 2030, the network of Sankara Eye Hospitals will deliver 430,000 free eye surgeries annually and all Partner Hospitals together will deliver 570,000 free eye surgeries.

Covid relief

During the COVID months, SEF, USA-supported smaller charitable eye hospitals by supporting paycheck protection programs for those struggling.

Sankara Introduction, Inception, History

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