Photo by Joe Raffanti: From the age of two, David Mukisa from Busia, Uganda, lived with poor eyesight, affecting every aspect of his young life. When he was seven, his mother joined a group traveling to Seva-supported Benedictine Eye Hospital. There, he was diagnosed with cataracts, and received bilateral cataract surgeries for free. “Fortunately he could be treated, even though I didn’t have money,” said David’s mom Alexia. ”A great weight has been lifted from my heart.”
Last month, the Seva Foundation and The International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness released a groundbreaking report revealing a striking truth:
Children with vision loss learn at half the rate of those with good or corrected vision. Put another way – every year, 6.3 million school years are lost due to uncorrected vision, amounting to $173 billion in future earnings each year. Imagine the impact if those kids could simply see the board. What innovations would emerge? What challenges could these young minds overcome?
Last year 3,594,344 individuals’ lives changed for the better. 3.5 million moms, dads, brothers, sisters, aunties, uncles, grandmothers, grandfathers, and friends received vital eye care services, medicine, and treatment through Seva.
This year, we also crossed the 50 million mark of people served with eye care services through Seva and partners since 1978. This achievement rests on over four decades of pioneering sustainable eye care solutions with some of the world’s most compassionate, smart, and talented team of staff, partners, and supporters – this includes YOU!
Read more about the specific activities, analytics, and personal stories of Seva’s work this past year. We are another step closer to ending the public health crisis of avoidable blindness – Seva’s impact, affordability, and sustainability is a big reason why Nicholas Kristof honored us with the 2021 Grand Holiday Impact Prize. As he said, “it feels miraculous to watch people regain their sight, but it’s a miracle that we can all make happen. Seva Foundation, the Grand Prize Winner of this year’s Holiday Impact Prize, is transforming people’s lives for as little as $50 per cataract surgery. Seva works in more than 20 countries abroad and in Native American communities in the United States, and nothing is more joyous than seeing the impact of its work on people who had thought they would never see again.”
