Cataract Chronicles-25 years
As I celebrate my 25th year volunteering as an eye surgeon in Southeast Asia. I am delighted to share photos and stories about the vision challenges and the people and cultures of India, Nepal, Cambodia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Vietnam. - Dr. Gary Barth
Chronicle 29 - Reducing barriers: Enormous impact from BBH Bus Donation in Bangladesh
Bangladesh: Significant Positive Impact of Two Buses given by BBH Eye Foundation & DAK Foundation
Increase the number of Cataract Surgeries within a very short time
Our partner in Bangladesh, Khairul Islam, MD, sent his charity hospital’s seven— and fourteen-year-old buses out every day to bring back to the eye hospital those who were diagnosed with dense cataracts.
Radio announcements instructed the rural patients to come with two days of clothes to a school setting. If they were found to be blinded by cataracts, they would board a bus that morning and be transported to the DEEP Eye Hospital. They would return to their village on the same bus two days later.
During a BBH site visit to Rangpor, Bangladesh, he requested a donation to help him expand his capacity to bring in cataract patients and extend the catchment range. The older buses were expensive and unreliable for transporting patients from screening camps further from the eye hospital (seen in the background).
We urged our Australian partners, Dave and Kerry, to match our efforts. They agreed and wired BBH money. We purchased two bus chassis, drive trains, and engines in India. When parts arrived in Bangladesh, local tradesmen put on the superstructure, windows, doors, seats, etc. Local initiatives maximized our donations.
As a private foundation, we can be quite nimble and efficient in meeting requests that improve sustainability. Using trust-based philanthropy after vetting the hospital’s operations, we can quickly meet needs that take forever for a large NGO to approve.
Another blog is coming about how BBH was able to join forces with our very well-known Indian colleagues at Aravind to provide Banglasdesh’s DEEP Eye Hospital with an Indian electronic medical record system that will allow them to apply for grants and do research.
