FORT COLLINS, September 24, 2016 ― More children in Bangalore, India, are seeing
the world through healthy eyes, thanks to grants of nearly $153,000 given to a
renowned eye hospital by Rotary Club of Fort Collins Breakfast, Rotary Club of
Bangalore NW and Rotary International.
the world through healthy eyes, thanks to grants of nearly $153,000 given to a
renowned eye hospital by Rotary Club of Fort Collins Breakfast, Rotary Club of
Bangalore NW and Rotary International.
The Modi Eye Charitable Hospital in Bangalore was founded in 1980 by Dr. P.C. Modi,
who pioneered mass eye surgery in India, which has extremely high rates of blindness
due to untreated cataracts. The Guinness Book of World Records lists Dr. Modi as the
"most dedicated doctor" for performing the highest number of eye surgeries, as many as
833 cataract operations in one day. He visited 46,120 villages and performed more than
610,000 operations before his death in 2005.
who pioneered mass eye surgery in India, which has extremely high rates of blindness
due to untreated cataracts. The Guinness Book of World Records lists Dr. Modi as the
"most dedicated doctor" for performing the highest number of eye surgeries, as many as
833 cataract operations in one day. He visited 46,120 villages and performed more than
610,000 operations before his death in 2005.
Two Rotary grants awarded in 2013 and 2015 are helping to equip the facility to
improve operating room eye surgery and outpatient facilities to diagnose and treat
pediatric eye issues as well as many preventable ailments that cause blindness,
including glaucoma, cataracts and diabetes. The grants doubled day camp eye
surgeries from 500 to 1,000 every month and doubled the outpatient care services from
100 to 200 per day. The services are provided free of charge to about 80 percent of
patients.
Rotary Club of Fort Collins Breakfast and Rotary Club of Bangalore NW have partnered
with Rotary International District 5440 and Rotary International District 3190 in Colorado
and Wyoming to provide funding for the hospital.
A team of Rotarians from RI District 5440, including Past District Governor Mike Forney
and Rotarians Dr. Krishna Murthy, Dr. Lee Jeffrey and Carla Jeffrey, visited Modi Eye
Hospital in Bangalore in February 2014 to see the hospital’s services firsthand. They
also participated in End Polio campaign in India.
Rotary launched its polio immunization program PolioPlus in 1985 and in 1988 became
a spearheading partner in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) with the World
Health Organization, UNICEF, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. Since the global initiative began in 1988, the incidence of polio has
plummeted by more than 99 percent, from about 350,000 cases a year to 74 in 2015.
Rotary’s main responsibilities within the initiative are fundraising, advocacy, and social
mobilization. To date, Rotary has contributed more than US$1.2 billion and countless
volunteer hours to fight polio. Through 2018, every dollar Rotary commits to polio
eradication will be matched two-to- one by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation up to
$35 million a year.
Rotary Club of Fort Collins Breakfast has donated about $150,000 to India projects over
the past 25 years. Find out more about Rotary Club of Fort Collins Breakfast at
fcbreakfastrotary.org.
The Rotary Foundation is a largest service organization in the world, headquartered in
Evanston, Ill. Areas of focus include peace and conflict prevention /resolution; water and
sanitation; basic education/literacy; disease prevention and treatment; maternal health
and child welfare; and economic and community development. Each year, The Rotary
Foundation provides more than $100 million in grants for both local community and
international community grants. Find out more at www.rotary.org.
