Club Meeting with Guest Speaker Kath Hayes talking about the Guildford Eye Project

The Rotary Club of Guildford Eye Project is an avoidable blindness programme which serves those in India and Africa who are too poor to access their own medical care. The charity provides assessment camps, surgical equipment andsurgeon training such that free eye operations and treatment are available.

There are 50 million avoidably blind worldwide, of which 18 million are in India, 4+ million being in the Kolkata area.

It is a charity inspired, founded and administered entirely by Rotarians,  As Rotarian’s are  volunteers no administrative costs are incurred.

The charity develops partnership links with Rotary Clubs in the areas of need who are required to provide the premises, while each partner contributes to all other costs. The aim is for all facilities to become self financing.

The facilities as of June 2015  are providing <700,000 free eye examinations, and  >100,000 free eye operations per year.

2011 target: 50 further hospitals thereby providing facilities for 100,000 cataract operations per annum by 2020.

With the astute use of Rotary Foundation’s Grant scheme the £15 cost of a cataract operation can be funded with a donation of just £5 in the UK.