Cyan Yellow Magenta Black Nethralaya’s CORPUS FUND Medical Research Foundation is a charitable, not-for-profit organization Sankara Nethralaya OM Trust Inc., committed to Community Ophthalmology, providing comprehensive free DONATION SCHEME AMOUNT IN USD* eye care to the urban and rural poor. 1. One time on a designated date Single Cataract Surgery 50 $ !""AIM : To create a Corpus Fund. Single Major Surgery such as Retina, Glaucoma 175 $ !"AMOUNT : 120 million Rupees (US$ 2.7 million) in Phase 1. 2. Single day free service 40 Surgeries per day 2,000 $ !"PLAN : To provide high quality inpatient free eye care surgery to the economically 3. Year after year on a designated date poor in India, out of the interest earned. Single Free Cataract Surgery 500 $ March 2006 Sankara Nethralaya Number 41 GOOD NEWS : Sir Ratan Tata Trust, Mumbai has evaluated our program to Single major Surgery (Retina, Glaucoma) 1,750 $ !" perform 10,000 such free surgeries every year perennially, found it acceptable and 4. Dedication scheme A bed in General ward 2,200 $ is considering to part fund of the corpus. The first and second contribution to the fund A Room 6,500 $ to 11,000 $ came from Sankara Nethralaya consultants and employees. The Alumni of Nethralaya An Operation theater 35,000 $ have also made a contribution. 5. Tele-ophthalmology A single day screening How You Can Help Us of 200 rural poor for vision care 250 $ Donation of USD 1000/- to Medical Research Foundation 6. Corpus Fund For Community outreach program Any amount !"TAX EXEMPT : Donations are now 100% tax Exempt as per Section 35 AC of the *100% IRS Tax exempted in US IRS Registered 501 (C)(3) Income Tax Act, India. In USA, donations to SN OM Trust are 100% IRS tax exempt. A scheme for every occasion Contribution Details Share and Celebrate with us For questions about tax exempt status and contributions, please contact : USA CANADA Mr S V Acharya Hindu Society of Treasurer Ottawa - Carleton, Inc. Sankara Nethralaya OM Trust Inc. P.O. Box No. 72017, Indo-Israel Ophthalmic Congress, 19th November 2005 9710, Traville Gateway Drive, Kanata, Ontario, The first Indo Israel i2i Ophthalmic Congress country, providing education, clinical research and guiding national No. 392, Rockville, K2K 2P4, Canada. MD 20850, U.S.A. was inaugurated by Dr. Gullapalli N. Rao - blindness control policy. Phone: 613-592-8978 Chairman & President of International Agency Phone:301-251-0378 email: [email protected] Dr. S.S.Badrinath, Chairman - Sankara Nethralaya, said the aim was to for Prevention of Blindness and the email: [email protected] www.hindusocietyottawa.com bring together talent and technology, which often took stand-alone Distinguished Chair of Eye Health, L.V. Donate online:www.omtrust.org positions. Prasad Eye Institute on 19th November 2005 UK OTHER COUNTRIES at the Chennai Convention Centre, Prof. Michael Blumenthal from Israel, pioneer of the ‘Small Incision Nandambakkam, Chennai. Cataract Surgery’ and an educator for Indian ophthalmologists during Charity Correspondent Dr. S.S. Badrinath periodic visits to India over the past twenty-five years, said the level Editorial Board His Excellency Mr. David Danieli, the Israeli Ambassador to India was Gopala Krishnan Ravi Chairman, Sankara Nethralaya of ophthalmic expertise in India was outstanding. He said, “It is one Editor : Dr. Rajiv Raman (UNIT OF MEDICAL RESEARCH the guest of honour. He released the Abstract Book and in his address to R Chatru & Co. Ltd. thing to usher in an innovation; quite another to implement it across Assistant Editor : Dr Sheshadri Mahajan York House, FOUNDATION) the distinguished audience of ophthalmologists from all parts of the globe, Empire Way, Wembley, 18, College Road, a layer of sustained excellence”. Associate Editor : Mr. V. Murali he said that the symposium was a microcosm of the forward-moving Middlesex, HA9 0PA. UK. Chennai 600 006. INDIA. India-Israel relationship. Dr.Ravi Thomas, Director - L.V. Prasad Eye Institute, stressed the Editorial Assistant: Mr. Sampath Kumar V Phone: 0208 795 1651 Phone: 2826 1265, 2827 1616 importance of infrastructure building in rural areas alongside Administrative Assistants : Mr. V. Suresh Fax: 0208 795 1652 Fax: 2825 4180, 2821 0117 The event was hosted by Sankara Nethralaya along with Aravind Eye email: [email protected] community outreach programmes, which had its own limitations. Mr. Jothi Srinivasan V, Mr. K. Senthil Kumaran email: Hospital, Madurai; L.V.Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad; Shri.Ganapati [email protected] Netralaya, Jalna and Sri.Sankaradeva Nethralaya, Guwahati. The event The two-day conference was very well attended by over 600 Typeset by : Mr. A L Senthilkumar [email protected] was organised by ophthalmologists of Sankara Nethralaya headed by delegates from all over the country and as well as from Israel and Printed at : Gnanodaya Press Website:www.sankaranethralaya.org Dr. Prema Padmanabhan and her team. Singapore. Addressing presspersons, Dr. Gullapalli N. Rao said the broad areas The inaugural function concluded with a scintillating performance The issue of Eyelights is sponsored by : M/s. Alcon Laboratories, Bangalore Micro Vision, Bangalore of collaboration are creating standards for eye care services in the of Classical and Folk Dances by the ‘Kalakshetra Foundation’. Warren Pharmaceuticals, Mumbai M/s. Apex Laboratories Pvt. Ltd., Chennai Keep in Touch : write to us at [email protected] to learn about the activities of Sankara Nethralaya. Please send us your mail address to receive a copy of Eyelights. For Private Circulation only Cyan Yellow Magenta Black Pillar of Sankara Nethralaya in September 1978, he took up work at Nethralaya as his full time Nethralaya News career with the blessings of his parents. Republic Day celebrations In the words of Dr. Surendran: “The charisma, excellent ophthalmic The 57th Republic Day of the Indian Republic was celebrated with great Spectra - “An Insight to your perception” care, the compassion towards patients and staff of our mentor joy by the employees of Sankara Nethralaya. Sri. B.S. Raghavan, Dr. Badrinath was the motivating factor for my association with IAS (Retd.,), was the Chief Guest for the function. He hoisted the National The students of Medical Research Foundation and the Department of Sankara Nethralaya. His association, which I always cherish, was Flag on the Republic Day Celebration at Sankara Nethralaya on 26th Medical Sociology of Sankara Nethralaya, organized an eye and vision the changing point in my career”. Dr. Surendran who specializes January 2006 and delivered his keynote address. He said that it was the care exhibition at Sankara Nethralaya Rural Eye Hospital, St. Thomas in paediatric ophthalmology is one of the foremost squint surgeons responsibility of every Indian to do his best with passion for the Mount, Chennai, on January 28, 2006. The exhibition “SPECTRA” in the country. He is an extremely well known contact lens specialist. development of our country. In this respect, he said, Sankara Nethralaya was inaugurated by Mr. C. Sylendra Babu I.P.S., Joint Commissioner of He took up contact lenses as a specialty in the days when contact has fulfilled its commitment to India. He said that SERVICE has 7 attributes: Police. The exhibition was held on 28th and 29th January 2006. lens fitting was little known in the country. During his tenure, he Sensitivity, Empathy, Responsiveness, Values, Involvement, has operated on over 6000 patients and dispensed contact lenses Commitment, and Excellence. Sankara Nethralaya stood as an to over 25000 patients. When Medical Research Foundation set embodiment of these 7 attributes. up the Elite School of Optometry in 1985, he took up the Dr. T. S. Surendran, Vice-Chairman, Medical Research responsibility of teaching Contact Lenses to the optometrists. Foundation and Director, Paediatric Ophthalmology Department is A very friendly and affable person, Dr. Surendran is much loved the senior-most consultant at Sankara Nethralaya, besides Dr. S. by both his patients and the staff of Sankara Nethralaya. As he S. Badrinath, the Chairman and President, Medical Research says: “A sentimental attachment to the staff from day one who Foundation. Dr. Surendran joined Dr. Badrinath in August 1977, have been like a family and shared joyous and sad moments with at Voluntary Health Services, Adyar, Chennai. This was a year me”. Dr. Surendran has been supported in his career at Sankara before Sankara Nethralaya was founded. Dr. P. K. Baskar, the Nethralaya by the motivation of his wife, his children and his maternal uncle of Dr. Surendran was instrumental in effecting the parents. He has completed 28 years with Sankara Nethralaya. In introduction between the two. his words: “When I look back, it is amazing that I had served the The exhibition was well-attended by the general public, who came in th 1978 proved a momentous year in his life. He married Ms. organization for 28 years and am marching on the 29 year. large numbers to see and understand about the eye. Over 1000 visitors I cherish every minute of my association”. Jayanthi in early 1978 and when Sankara Nethralaya was founded Employees who had completed 10 years of Service with the Foundation came to the exhibition and 100 people underwent free vision screening. were honoured at the function. Merit Scholarships for the children of The exhibition was arranged with the objective of educating and employees who have done well in their studies were also distributed. promoting awareness about the eye and its related problems,amongst the public. The key features of the exhibition included information on A W A R D S An “Inspiring” Gift to Sankara Nethralaya refractive errors and spectacle correction, contact lenses, eye infections, visual disorders in children, age related problems like cataract, and Dr. E. Balakrishnan Memorial Award glaucoma. It also focused on newer areas like sports vision, eye donation, computer vision syndrome, genes and eyes, and refractive surgery.