By Matters India Reporter

Tumkur, June 24, 2019: A visually challenged child prodigy joined Karnataka’s deputy chief minister on June 23 to open a campus for eye donation movement a Clarentian priest started six years ago.

“I have pledged my eyes. When I die, my eyes will not go to the soil. It will give sight to two blind persons,” Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister Parameshwara Gangadharaiah, better known as Dr G. Parameshwara, said as he inaugurated the Project Vision Eye Care campus with Fathima Anshi at Kasapura village in Tumkur district.

Parameshwar expressed the hope that more people will come forward to donate their eyes with Project Vision, an initiative of the Claretian Fathers working for eye donation and eye care.

The deputy chief minister also inaugurated the Project Vision Eye Care Clinic in the campus set up to provide eye care services for the rural poor. He also flagged off the Ambulance for the Project Vision outreach program. T

The Ambulance Project Vision aims to provide eye care facilities for villages in Korategere, Madugiri and Gauribidanur Taluks in Karnataka. The Project Vision campus is situated at Kasapura Gate, some 100 km northwest of Bengaluru, the state capital.

Claretian Father Jacob Arackal led the blessing of the building.

Deputy Commissioner of Tumkur District Rakesh Kumar and Superintendent of Police Vamshi also attended the program.

The Project Vision was started in 2013 by Claretian social worker Father George Kannanthanam to give sight to the blind and to help the blind live a meaningful life.

The eye donation movement led by the Bengaluru-based Project Vision has motivated about 500,000 people to pledge to donate their eyes so far. The motto of Project Vision is ‘Let Everyone see’. Sight has already been given to about 300 persons through corneal transplant.

India has one third of the world’s 39 million blind people. Only 30,000 of the 9 million people who died last year, had donated their eyes.

According to Father Kannanthanam, if all Christians in India volunteered to donate their eyes, the Christian community can provide sight to all the blind in the country. Various congregations, dioceses and Christian organizations such as the Vincent De Paul society has adopted eye donation as part of their work.

The Project Vision Eye Clinic is supported by Ysmen Club. ONGC is the sponsor for the Ambulance and the outreach program.