The "Sri Sankara Give Sight " initiative is a campaign that is being done by me and my fellow students to help raise awareness and funds to give sight to the elderly poor who suffer from CATARACT problems in rural areas in and around Chennai city.
All the funds collected from this initiative will go to the " SANKARA EYE HOSPITAL" located 6 km from the Chennai airport in the PAMMAL area. This hospital does about 10000 (ten thousand) free surgeries annually under their KANNOLI vision saver project and these funds will be used for that.
FACT: Cataract operations performed in metro cities like Chennai can typically cost between INR 8000-12000. This is the cost if the lenses used in the surgery are Indian ones. If imported foreign lenses are used the cost can go up to INR 40000 to even 60000. The team at Sankara Eye Hospital (Pammal) are making these surgeries available to us at a much lower cost. The cost for them works out to approximately INR 4000.
Grant-in-aid from the National Programme for Control of Blindness, revenue from paid patients & interest from endowments covers a fair part of the INR 4000 requirement leaving a shortfall of about INR 1000 per surgery. The hospital looks towards individuals and corporate donors to help bridge this deficit. All we need to do is fund INR 1000 to enable restoration of vision to one poor person.
JUST FUND INR 1000 AND YOU CAN GIVE SIGHT TO THE RURAL ELDERLY. HELP ME RAISE INR 10,000 and IMPACT 10 ELDERLY PEOPLE.
Once the money is given to them, Sankara Eye Hospital will use it to perform cataract surgeries for the elderly poor in villages. They will then share the details with me. (scroll down to see how they give feedback on surgeries). I shall then post an update on this campaign giving you details of the elderly whose eyesight has been corrected so that you know for whose treatment your money has been used.
CASE STUDY OF A CATARACT PATIENT
ABOUT ME & THIS CAMPAIGN:
Pic: This is me
Hi, I am CHANDRASEKHARAN RAMAKRISHNAN of Class 11th of Sri Sankara Senior Secondary School, Adyar at Chennai.
Let me tell you more about this campaign of mine. A few days ago, our school had a program where the team from Fueladream.com told us about a crowdfunding program which is going to help raise funds for elderly people who urgently need to undergo Cataract surgeries.
The fact that a contribution of just Rs 1000 can make a difference in the life of someone, made me realize that I must do something to help. I strongly believe that we can help those who are needy and in the process, transform their lives. Please support my campaign and let us together bring light into the lives of these people.
THE PARTNERS :
The funds from this campaign go to Sankara Eye hospital. All the receipts and 80G tax benefits that you get will be sent to you directly from Sankara Eye hospital who have the necessary 80G certification and also have FCRA certificate (This means that even funding from foreign sources is accepted). For more info on the hospital visit http://www.kannoli.net/. Their initiative to provide free eye surgeries is also supported by the Rotary Club of Madras Fort (RI Dist 3232).
HOW YOU CAN HELP & HOW FUNDS WILL BE USED
We are raising money to cover the cost of the cataract surgery & the smallest amount you contribute will help them to regain their eyesight. Once the campaign ends, regular updates will be posted to keep the funders abreast of the beneficiaries of the donations.
The names and addresses below have been blurred out on purpose as this is an example. For this campaign, the students will get the "complete details of patients". The below format is for INDICATIVE purposes.
TAX BENEFITS:
By funding this campaign, you are eligible for tax breaks as the SANKARA EYE HOSPITAL is a registered NGO & you can avail benefits under section 80G of the IT act. Foreign funding is accepted. If you are an Indian living abroad or a person holding an Indian passport you can EASILY fund this campaign.
ABOUT THE HOSPITAL:
Sankara Eye Hospital is a state of the art, multi-speciality eye hospital located in Pammal, Chennai and has been functioning since 1997 as an exclusive eye care centre with a singular vision of providing high-quality care to all segments of society, rich or poor.
Rotary Club of Madras Fort started the Project – “Kannoli -Vision Saver” in 1994 with the following aims and objects.
* Reach out to those who are in need.
* Help volunteers to help those in need of eyesight.
* Provide succour to those without near and dear to take care.
* Assist those who are unable to access a hospital on their own.
* Offer more than sight – Total care with understanding, love and compassion.
* A rural outreach program on eye care with a thrust on villages in Chennai, Kanchipuram, Tiruvallur and Chittoor (AP) districts.
This multidisciplinary hospital has been converted into an exclusive ophthalmic centre since April 1997. As of 2003, there were 91 beds catering to 12,000 surgeries. The bed strength has been raised now to 140 beds with an ultimate annual target of 20,000 surgeries. The Rotary Foundation through Rotary Club of Madras Fort provides support for new equipment and surgical expenditure under their matching grant projects.
LOCATION OF THE HOSPITAL
ABOUT ROTARY CLUB OF MADRAS FORT:
Rotary Club of Madras Fort is part of the Rotary network - a global network of 1.2 million neighbours, friends, leaders, and problem-solvers who come together to make positive, lasting changes in communities at home and abroad. Rotary Club of Madras Fort along with its members have used their passion, energy, and commitment to make a difference to the lives of many people over the last 25 years. They are committed to always working towards bettering our world & the lives of those who need help. They have a long relationship and partnership with the Sankara Eye Hospital at Pallam.
ABOUT KANNOLI VISION PROJECT:
Kannoli-Vision Saver Project launched by Rotary Club of Madras Fort in 1994 and conducts rural outreach eye screening camps. This program involves daily camps at villages where people are screened for eye disorders and those needing surgery are brought to the Hospital by our buses, accommodated, pre-surgical testing carried out, surgery conducted post-operative care taken and patients are taken back to their villages after issuing spectacles and medicines as required. A postoperative review after one week and another review after 30 days provide assurance on the outcome and beneficial impact of the surgery, and where necessary, free spectacles are also provided. The entire sequence of activities from screening to postoperative review is carried out free of cost.
Their website is at the link http://www.kannoli.net/
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 Sankara Eye 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 the Sankara Eye Hospital. I shall upload this on the UPDATES section of this campaign. You will then get an alert & can read details about the beneficiaries.
What are the crowdfunding charges & cost of each surgery?
There is a payment gateway fee of 3% (for both the Indian and foreign gateway) and a Fueladream fee of 9% of funds raised. The govt levy of GST amounts to 2.16 %. There is also an initial fee of 3000 INR which is being waived for us. With all this the funds we need to raise for a surgery are still only INR 1000.
When do I get the receipts?
It takes up to 2-3 weeks after the campaign is closed for the monies to be transferred to Sankara Eye Hospital 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 a 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 an FB page or a thank you email from the beneficiaries.
