Eye Camps (India)

In 2008, Sikh Union Coventry was invited to participate in the sponsorship and organisation of an Eye Camp in India. After several months of planning, and the blessings of the Sangat, the first Sikh Union eye camp took place in March 2009, and attended by seven members of the club who travelled at their own cost to support the project.

Almost 700 needy patients attended the eye camp from and around the township of Phillaur in the Punjab District of India. Sikh Union’s undertaking was to pay the full cost of all treatments, including cataract surgery and the follow up after-care for up to 12 months, provision of spectacles and any other short term treatment. Around 95 cataract and other minor surgeries were performed, and over 150 pairs of spectacles provided. The project was a total success.

Sight is something that can often be taken for granted. Lack of sight from birth or loss of sight in subsequent years is crippling, particularly if the affected person happens to be a key breadwinner for the family. The ability to make a small contribution towards making a difference life changing for another human being is truly humbling.

Following the success of that first project, Sikh Union has subsequently held at least one Eye Camp every year since then. The location has moved to Jalandhar in Punjab, and numbers attending have grown steadily. We continue to get tremendous support from many of our sponsors and particularly the Sangat from in and around Coventry. With God’s grace, we hope to continue with this Seva for many more years to come.