2. An enlightening project of the Rotary Club of Wagga Wagga
DARKNESS TO
LIGHT
An enlightening project of the Rotary Club of Wagga Wagga

3. Once upon a time …
An ophthomalogist and physician named Dr Alok Sharma joined our Club with a dream ….
And he took our Club along for this amazing journey …
And this is what he taught us …

4. World Blindness : The Facts
An estimated 37 million people are blind worldwide.
Every year, an additional 1-2 million people go blind.
75% of this blindness is treatable and/or preventable.
90% of the blind live in the poorest section of the developing world.
Without proper interventions the number of blind will
increase to 75 million by 2020.
Restoration of sight is one of the most cost-effective
interventions in health care.

5. Every 5 seconds one person in our world goes blind
Every 5 seconds one person in our world goes blind... and a child goes blind every minute.

6. And the villian is …
Cataract is the most common cause of preventable blindness in the world.
It accounts for 18 million blind people who need not be blind.
9 million people affected by cataracts live in India.

7. Darkness to Light Eye Camp
The Project
Darkness to Light Eye Camp
The first camp held in India in 2005
Partnered with the Rotary Club of Yamuna Nagar - Riviera in India.

8. The long road to India
Connecting with the district hospital in India for permission to perform surgery.
Connecting with the
regional medical college
for assistance with staff.
Organising the
travel arrangements.

9. Getting the Word Out!

10. Ajoy Joshi PHF - Nilgiris Restaurant, Sydney; ‘Food Safari’ SBS
Meanwhile back in Australia …
Ajoy Joshi PHF - Nilgiris Restaurant, Sydney; ‘Food Safari’ SBS

11. A true hero of this story
Ajoy’s donation to this project in the past
6 years exceeds $50,000.
Our club awarded him a Paul Harris Fellow in 2007.

12. 2005 Camp
President Philip Cross meets members of Rotary Club Yamuna Nagar – Riviera before the camp.

13. And they came …

14. 2000 patients
250 cataract operations
Distribution of 250 pairs of glasses
1100 patients treated with medication

16. Dr Sharma performs cataract surgery

17. The operating theatre

18. Post-op Ward

19. 2007 Camp

20. And they came again …

21. 200 cataract operations
Distribution of 500 pairs of glasses
2000 patients treated with medication

22. Rotarians at Work

23. Dr Phil EFGH aka PP Philip Cross
Dr Will ABCD aka PP Will Blackwell
Dr Phil EFGH aka PP Philip Cross

24. And the REAL doctor – Dr Leone Harvey-Smith

25. Post-op care packages distributed
Pre-op comfort
Post-op care packages distributed

26. The Global Financial Crisis hits the world …

27. 2010 Project

28. 500 children screened for dental and eye disease in India
100 children were given glasses

29. And on a local level…
Our Club donates two Surgistools to the eye theatre at Wagga Wagga Base Hospital – cost $5500

30. The stools allow surgeons to operate at any angle for longer amounts of time.

31. 2011 Camp

32. The Indian Dinner raised over $30,000
Her Excellency, the High Commissioner of India in Australia, Mrs Singh.
The Indian Dinner raised over $30,000

33. ?

34. The future …
Provide computer for trial of adaptive software to help people with all age groups with visual disability.
Provide for Social Activity Day for children who are blind or vision impaired and their families.
Continue to run eye camps wherever they are needed.

35. Want to know more? www.waggarotary.org
Watch this space for the next exciting adventure of …
DARKNESS TO
LIGHT
Want to know more?