Something has shifted. After decades of restoring sight – one surgery, one pair of glasses, one village at a time, Seva has crossed a threshold and I want you to be the first to understand what that means.
The research coming out of Guatemala this year stopped me cold. When we gave coffee harvesters eyeglasses, productivity jumped 8% within days. Every dollar spent returned $30 in combined wages and farm income. That result didn’t come from a new technology or a capital campaign. It came from a systems approach we have been quietly perfecting for 47 years; the disciplined belief that if you build the right infrastructure, train the right people, and measure what actually matters, the returns compound in ways that surprise even us.
Photo: A medical sterilizer at Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology.
When we picture sight being restored, we imagine the big moment: a bandage lifted, a face coming into focus. What we don’t picture is the “Air Puff” machine quietly doing its job without protest. In eye care, that’s its own kind of miracle.
The Nepal Ophthalmic Society Recognizes Dr. Chundak Tenzing’s Career
Dr. Binita Sharma (Seva’s Country Director, Nepal) with Dr. Chundak Tenzing (Seva’s Global Medical Director)
From leading eye camps in Nepal’s mountainous villages to performing hundreds of corneal transplants to advancing research on the causes of blindness, the work of Seva’s Global Medical Director, Dr. Chundak Tenzing, has always been grounded in service.
Photo above: Dr. Manisha Shreshtha, Pediatric Ophthalmologist; Gopal Bhandari, Optometrist; Sadhan Bhandari, Bachelor in Public Health; Devaki Acharya, Ophthalmic Assistant; Deepak Yadav, Ophthalmic Assistant; Prakash Malla, Ophthalmic Assistant
Seva’s research shows that a child receiving glasses at age five can earn 78% more during their lifetime—just one of the many reasons early eye care matters. At Bharatpur Eye Hospital in Nepal, a new pilot program is making sure even the youngest children get the care they need to see clearly from the start.
This past year reminded me again that Seva’s story is one of resilience – not just the resilience of the communities we serve but of a mission that continues to thrive through challenge, change, and time. And at the heart of that resilience is you.
When we first opened a modest Vision Center in the Himalayan hills of Nepal in 1989, we didn’t have a roadmap – just a vision (pun intended) of what was possible. Today, that vision has grown into a worldwide network of 266 Vision Centers, providing permanent access to critical care for over 29 million people. In the last year alone, our partner hospitals in more than 20 countries delivered quality eye care to over 7 million individuals. What sustains this work isn’t just funding or infrastructure – it’s belief. Yours.
Seva piloted primary eye care Vision Centers (VCs) in Nepal in 1989 to provide critical eye care services to people living in remote villages scattered across the Himalayas. Since then, Seva has established 266 VCs across 12 countries, bringing access to eye care to over 29 million people.
Seva founded the Pyuthan District Eye Care Center in July 1993. Currently there is a proposal to rename it the Narendra-Gayetri District Eye Care Center to honor the remarkable couple behind its creation, Narendra and Gayetri Shrestha.
Local business owners in Pyuthan, the Shresthas, have long been dedicated to uplifting their community. They run a well-known grocery store in town, but their impact extends beyond commerce.
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?
Across low-and-middle-income countries, less than half of 10-year-old children can read. This alarming phenomenon has been labelled by education experts around the world as the global ‘learning crisis’: A bitter-sweet situation in which we have achieved near universal primary education, including gender parity, but in which children are not achieving sufficient mastery of basic literacy and numeracy.
Policymakers will need to use a variety of tools to address the learning deficit. One promising but under-considered intervention is hiding in plain sight: eyeglasses.
My name is Suzanne Gilbert. For the last 45 years, I’ve had the most rewarding job in the world, with the most remarkable people, at the most resilient organization: the Seva Foundation.
I’ve been with Seva…well, before it was even called Seva! Over the years, I’ve worn many hats, from Co-Founder to volunteer to Executive Director, Program Director, and in recent years as Senior Director of Research.This month, I’ll be retiring from the organization.
As I wind down these last few weeks, I’ve dug through the archives, recalling touching Seva stories and the people behind them. Seva’s stellar Communications Team asked if I’d share some of my journey with you.
What did five decades in public health teach me? Well, beyond dancing back-up for Wavy Gravy (true story!), it really boils down to this: learning how to see the possible in the impossible.
In the late 70s, when we first told people our aim to eliminate avoidable blindness, they thought we were nuts. “You can’t do it, that’s not going to happen, is that even a problem?” Some just asked “how?” And to be honest, we hadn’t gotten that far in our plan yet. We just had this vision, first steps, kept going, and attracted colleagues who shared our same goal.
Building and scaling self-sustaining eye care programs worldwide is no small feat. What’s stood resolute across five decades is Seva’s firm commitment to compassion, science and service – individually great, but combined? Potent to create lasting change. Today, Seva has grown into a leading authority in public health, tens of thousands of supporters strong, and 57 million people served across over 20 countries.
I’m heartened with all we’ve achieved together – but it’s behind the scenes where some of my favorite memories are, and where the “Seva magic” often happens: talks late into the night to truly hear each other, experiencing the ground realities of partners around the world, and the unexpected surprises along the way (turns out there’s a lot of them in public health!). Hope you enjoy these few memories.
