Seva is a global nonprofit eye care organization that works with local communities around the world to develop self-sustaining programs that preserve and restore sight.
Since 1978, Seva has provided sight-saving surgeries, eyeglasses, medicine, and other eye care services to more than 40 million people in under-served communities.
There are 19 million children worldwide under the age of 15 who live with impaired vision. In 2018, moved by this alarming statistic, Seva made a commitment to screen 1 million children and provide all necessary follow-up care by December 2020. This major undertaking was supported by Seva’s corporate partner, MODO, and other Seva supporters.
Participants from Nepal, India, Cambodia, US, and Canada for the launch of Seva’s Operations Research Capacity Building workshop 2020 (ORCB2020) held in Chitwan, Nepal.
At Seva, from our work with eye care professionals, hospitals, and partners in over 20+ countries, we’ve witnessed first hand the transformative power of community health. By partnering directly with the communities we serve to co-create innovative eye care solutions, we can reach more people with the sight-restoring treatment they need and, in turn, transform more lives.
Visualiza, Seva’s partner in Guatemala, is converting ambulances into mobile diagnostic clinics to provide home visits to neighborhoods who otherwise are unable to visit the clinic.
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to be one of the most pressing global health challenges of our time. Seva is thankful for all the brave frontline and essential workers who have tirelessly risked their lives in support of others. We are also thankful for you and your continued support in ensuring that our partners receive the vital resources they need in the face of this crisis.
For most of her life, Shakeela Bibi did not realize she had a vision problem. A 14-year old girl living in Pakistan, Shakeela had to drop out of school after two years because she could not keep up with her peers. She had trouble reading the blackboard and would copy off of other students’ notes instead.
Left: Andy rowing on the river Ganges in Varanasi, India. Right: Dr. Dipankar Mukhopadhyay.
Andrew Allen
Andrew Allen, a California wedding officiant, first learned about Seva at a fundraiser in 2013. Although he originally attended the fundraiser to listen to the music, Andrew left having learned a lot more about Seva and even purchased a few shirts. “If I am going to buy a shirt, I might as well help someone get their sight back.”
We believe that all children should be able to play, learn, and grow. Unfortunately, according to the World Health Organization, an estimated 1.4 million children globally are blind, and 19 million live with some form of visual impairment. At Seva, we know that to create a world free of avoidable childhood blindness, we must screen children for vision impairment as early as possible and identify and provide treatment to those in need. This means meeting and screening children where they are – at schools, at home, and in their community.
Celebrating Excellence in Eye Care Training for 12 years in July, 2019.
There are millions of people in the world in need of eye care services and not enough trained eye care professionals to provide care. Your generous support enables us to provide critical training for ophthalmic support staff. These individuals are professionally trained vision care workers who assist ophthalmologists and optometrists with routine clinical or non-clinical activities. With their assistance, ophthalmologists can focus on more advanced and complex cases. Together, they can provide care to more people, more efficiently.
But who trains the trainers? How do we make sure the teachers are giving their students the best information across the board? Eyexcel is how.
Even in the middle of a global pandemic, millions of people around the world need access to basic eye care services. At Seva, we are grateful for your support and the hard work, dedication, and determination of our wonderful global partners who go the extra mile to ensure that underserved communities have the support they need – especially today, during this challenging time.
On June 21, 2020, our partner in Bangladesh – Ispahani Islamia Eye Institute and Hospital (IIEIH) ‘e-inaugurated’ a new eye clinic in Lalmohan supported by Seva. Lalmohan, located in the southern district of Barisal, had very few vision care resources to serve its almost 300,000 residents. As most of the population there earns a low income, the closest eye hospital, which is located 63 miles (102 Kms) away, becomes very difficult and costly to visit.
The IBD team connects with Seva over a Zoom call for their consulting project’s final presentation.
An eye hospital transforms lives by restoring sight every day. But managing one is a challenging, sometimes overwhelming task. Now, imagine trying to do it in an isolated, rural part of the developing world! Where would you find administrative staff? How would you train them to use databases or manage payroll? How would you attract patients who can afford to pay for their care so that you can remain financially above-water? These are some of the critical questions that Seva’s partners have to answer as they work to provide safe long-term eye care to their communities sustainably.
Luckily, thanks to the support of donors like you, Seva and UC Berkeley have been able to help!
We entered our new fiscal year on July 1st – and thanks to you, we were able to do so with courage, hope, and compassion.
Together, we have crossed new boundaries every year, reaching millions of people with essential eye care services. This year – you did much more! You walked with us – hand in hand – to ensure that our medical partners have the resources they need to recover and re-enter from the pandemic. Your support allowed people living in remote communities around the world to receive the care they needed, especially now when they’re at their most vulnerable during the pandemic.