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Joan Baez
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"When we met the folks at Seva, we knew we were among kindred spirits, joining to bring people together in service to others. Whether preventing blindness in Nepal, assisting native peoples in Guatemala and Mexico, or helping our own Native Americans, Seva has been there to help alleviate suffering and improve people's lives. Long may they rock!"
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The Grateful Dead
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Legendary Folk Singer
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MEET: Ram Bahadur Pandley
Age 56, male
Family: his wife, 8 children
(5 daughters and 3 sons)
Seva's eye care team met Mr. Ram Bahadur
when he and his wife came to a Seva remote
eye camp in the town of Arghakhanchi, Nepal.
Bahadur couldn't see our faces because he
had completely lost his eyesight, but he told
us his story.
Many years ago, Bahadur explained how he
had lost vision in his right eye after an accident
while working to make gravel for concrete.
He was breaking rocks by hand when a piece
fl ew up and injured his eye. His eye got
infected and though he went to traditional
healers, he did not seek medical care from eye
specialists because of his poverty. Eventually
the infection worsened and he lost his eye.
Had Bahadur simply had access to eye care
at that time, a $1.00 bottle of antibiotic drops
would have treated his infection.
In the years that followed, Bahadur began
to lose vision in his left eye as well, until
eventually he went completely blind. He didn't
know why his left eye had lost vision and was
too poor to afford a visit to an eye doctor.
Bahadur explained that for years he has been
completely dependent on his wife and children
to guide him by the hand to his food and to
the bathroom. Without eyesight, he felt he had
become a burden on his family and seemed
very sad.
Bahadur's wife heard that Seva was setting up
a surgical eye camp near their remote village in
Nepal. Filled with hope, she carefully led him
by the hand along a rocky mountainside, slowly
making the journey to the Seva camp.
Upon arrival, Seva's team of doctors guided
Bahadur to an eye chart where his vision was
tested. Not only was he unable to see the eye
chart, he could not even count the fi ngers of
the doctor held just a foot in front of his face. In
desperation, Bahadur reached out to try to feel
the doctor's hand to count the fi ngers by touch.
It was determined that though he had been
blind for years, Seva would be able to restore
eyesight to his left eye by removing the mature
cataract which had formed and clouded his vision.
That afternoon, thanks to the generosity
of Seva donors like you, Bahadur was
provided with a free cataract surgery.
The simple 15-minute procedure would
reverse years of blindness and suffering.
Following the surgery, an eye patch was
carefully placed over the eye and it was
allowed to heal overnight. Bahadur and
his wife spent the night at a friend's home
nearby, waiting and hoping for a new life
the next day.
In the misty morning light, Bahadur waited
quietly for the bandage to be removed.
As soon as the patch was removed he was
able to see his wife's face!
Within about two minutes, he stood up
and began walking around on his own,
heading over to examine the eye chart
that he had been unable to see just the
day before.
Bahadur's smile beamed for all to see. But
he was not the only one smiling. Bahadur's
wife as well was clearly thrilled. Her broad
smile showed how relieved and happy she
was that both of them had regained their
independence and dignity. She told us
how grateful she is to not have to lead him
everywhere and how proud she is that he
will once again be independent.
For over 35 years, Seva has been helping
people just like Bahadur. To date, nearly
3.5 million people have had their sight
surgically restored, and 1 million are
provided with glasses or other eye care
services each year around the globe.
Your support not only provides eye care,
but also helps to train local eye care
professionals and build local capacity so
that more people like Bahadur can have
access to affordable eye care.
We join Bahadur in saying thank you for
your compassion and generosity. Without
support from donors like you, none of this
work would be possible.
