The IVCS charity

IVCS is a small registered charity that has been supporting rural development work in India since 1982. It has been closely associated with one particular project in north India, which has been working in the village of Amarpurkashi and surrounding villages since 1970.

The problem of cataracts in India

Cataracts account for half of blindness worldwide but they are estimated to be responsible for nearly 80% of blindness in India. Europeans typically develop cataract symptoms in their sixties and seventies. Asians begin to show symptoms more than a decade earlier, many during their working life. While by age 75, 25% of British adults will develop cataracts, 67% of over-70s in the Punjab have cataracts in one or both eyes.

Describing the typical impact of cataracts, the UK Department of Health web site instances the inability to read or drive. The indirect effects of cataracts on a poor family in rural India may be significantly more serious. The sight loss of an adult can rupture the household economy, whether a breadwinner becomes another dependent mouth to feed or a grandmother is no longer able to provide primary care for the children.

The IVCS eye camps

In 1987 IVCS's partner project in India received a donation specifically for a free eye camp. This proved very successful and 12 camps have since taken place. These have enabled the examination of over 3,000 villagers for eye problems. Eye examinations and post-operative care are carried out on the project campus, under the supervision of project staff. Food is provided, dressings changed and arrangements made for the doctor to visit. Medication to prevent infections is supplied free, and advice on avoiding hazards is given in careful simple language. The eye patients, who include the most deprived and vulnerable members of local rural communities, are struck by the way the project staff treat them with sympathy and respect and "take care of everything".

The need for a health fund and a new clinic

An eye camp can only be held when funds are available. Furthermore, although the pre- and post-operative care is carried out on the project campus, there are no operating facilities there, so cataract patients face the ordeal of a jeep ride back from the nearest hospital to the project campus immediately after their operation.

There is also a pressing need for a wider range of free or affordable treatment for villagers. At present, there are no funds for this nor are qualified doctors willing to setup practices in rural areas.

The IVCS health care fund

IVCS has setup a health care fund to address this issue. The aim is to get enough funds to enable an eye camp to be held every year and to build a new improved clinic in the village of Amarpurkashi where the cataract operations can take place.

IVCS have also spoken to doctors in the near by towns about the possibility of monthly consultations to examine villagers for blood pressure, heart and diabetes, as well as a range of other common medical conditions.

How you can help

Thanks to your generous support so far, over £7,000 has already been raised for the health fund. £3,990 was sent to India in September 2007, and the basic shell of the building was built. A further £3,000 was sent to India in January 2008, and the building has now been completed. A further £??? was sent to India in July 2008 to furnish the clinic, buy some basic equipment, and run the first health camps. The first health camps (an eye camp and a general health check-up camp) are planned to take place in the clinic in November 2008.

Further funds are still required to buy the remaining necessary medical equipment and to run future health camps.

To donate to the health care fund, please send a cheque payable to IVCS (Health Care).

Progress so far

The appeal was launched in September 2006 and has already raised over £7,000.

In July 2007, £3990 was transferred to India so that construction could start. By November 2007, three rooms, two bathrooms and three toilets had been built. The gate, boundary wall, septic tank and water tank are all currently being fitted. Construction costs unfortunately exceeded the original budget (of £6,000 for construction plus equipment), and so building work had to be suspended for a few weeks. Happily, a further £3,226 was raised between September and January, allowing the building to be completed. Doors and windows will now be fitted, a stone floor laid, walls part-tiled, electricity fitted, and the building whitewashed.

Read more about the IVCS eye camps

For more background read this account of a recent IVCS eye camp