We always had a raffle hosted by our school and it was for a charitable cause. This year due to COVID-19, our school could not host the raffle in physical space as we use to. But as the Pandemic has just added to the grievances of people, especially the poor and we believed they needed our help now more than ever.
THE PROBLEM
Cataract operations performed in cities like Mumbai typically cost between 10000 to 15000 INR depending on the case and complexity (With Indian lenses being used). With foreign lenses, the cost zooms to 40000-60000 INR. In addition, the cost of doing a screening camp for patients, getting them to stay in the hospital, taking care of their food, medicines, travel to the hospital and back is all additional costs.
THE SOLUTION
Bhaktivedanta Hospital & Research Institute is a project of Sri Chaitanya Seva Trust. Till date, it has offered 60,000+ Free Cataract Surgeries to the needy population of rural & tribal areas of Thane & Palghar districts of Maharashtra. The cost per cataract surgery is just INR 3000 which includes the cost of cataract surgery, conducting camps, nursing care, medicine and a pair of black sunglasses, patient accommodation & food for 2-3 days and free eye check-up after 45 days of surgery.
The money raised will be given to Sri Chaitanya Seva Trust who will use it for offering Free Cataract Surgeries to the rural & tribal population of Thane & Palghar districts. Sri Chaitanya Seva Trust will share the patient details with me and I will then post an update giving you details of the patients who eyesight has been corrected so that you can be assured of that your money has been put to the right use.
WHAT IS CATARACT?
As one age, the lenses in our eyes become cloudy and cause poor vision and blindness if not treated. This is very common among those who are 60+ years. It sometimes does happen to people who are even 30 years of age but that is very rare.
CASE STUDY: THE LIVES YOU IMPACT
COST SHEET
ABOUT THE HOSPITAL
This is the hospital with a difference where the needy get their cataract surgeries operated for free.
Located at Mira Road the hospital is a 250-bed multi-specialty hospital.
MAP & PICS: ABOUT THE CAMPS
ABOUT THE NGO
Sri Chaitanya Seva Trust is a public charitable trust and has been rendering various Community Welfare Services since 1991 for the Rural & Tribal population of Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.
We focus on HELP – Health, Empowerment, Livelihood & Program development for the needy through:
- Community Health Initiatives conducted through Bhaktivedanta Hospital and its satellite centres.
- Integrated Rural Development Initiatives are conducted through Govardhan Eco-Village at Wada.
- Skill Development Initiatives are conducted through Bhaktivedanta Hospital and its satellite centres.
Community Health Initiatives:
Bhaktivedanta Hospital & Research Institute, a project of the Sri Chaitanya Seva Trust, commenced its activities in the year 1998 and is focused on providing free/ affordable health care without compromise on quality. On 11th January 2019, we completed 21 years of service to the community. The hospital is located at Mira Road, Thane district. It has 200 beds and is also a NABH Accredited Multi-specialty hospital. The hospital provides comprehensive state-of-the-art health care facilities for all varieties of diagnostic, medical, surgical, and critical cases using the latest hi-tech equipment.
We serve a population of approximately 1.5 million people in and around Mira-Bhayander in the western suburbs of Mumbai and in the rural & tribal areas of Thane & Palghar districts.
TAX BENEFITS
Funding for this campaign is eligible for tax breaks as the SRI CHAITANYA SEVA TRUST is a registered NGO & you can avail of benefits under section 80G of the IT act. Foreign funding is accepted too.
FEEDBACK THAT YOU GET
To ensure that there is complete transparency I shall get a report from the hospital (this takes between 1 to 3 months usually after the funds are raised & transferred to them) telling me who benefitted from the funding. The details will then be posted on the UPDATES section of my campaign and will be in a format like the one below. As soon as an update is posted, the platform will send an SMS and EMAIL alert to all the funders - i.e. to you. Click on the link on the email and you can read about which person has benefitted. That's transparent right.
The below image is an example of the FEEDBACK FORMAT that we will be shared with all my funders.
FAQs
Will we get to know the details of the elderly who benefitted?
Yes. After the money has been collected it will be transferred by Fueladream to Sri Chaitanya Seva Trust who will then give it to the Bhakti Vedanta Hospital. It will take from 30 to 90 days after that to get details of who the beneficiary was with details of them. Once I get this information from the team at Sri Chaitanya Seva Trust/Bhakti Vedanta, I shall upload this on the UPDATES section of this campaign. You will then get an alert & can read details about the beneficiaries.
When do I get the receipts?
It takes up to 2 weeks after the campaign is closed for the monies to be transferred. The receipts will start getting processed about 4 to 6 weeks AFTER the campaign is closed and will be sent to you directly.
How does crowdfunding work?
Crowdfunding in India is a relatively new concept & is growing very quickly.
It’s a concept that allows a large number of funders (like you) to fund an idea or a cause or event by giving small amounts of money online. Fueladream.com is a crowdfunding platform in India that allows for such pooling of funds.
You can fund innovations & ideas on FuelADream and be the first to get these products or make them come true. You can also do a good turn by funding charities and causes through crowdfunding. When you fund a charity it’s more like a donation & you get small innovative rewards like a shout-out on FB page or a thank you email from the beneficiaries.
