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It’s an exciting time for us at Sightsavers as we launch Vision India. Our Chairman Lord Nigel Crisp explains more about the appeal:

“During 2010-12 we aim to fund eye care treatments for 5.4 million people and carry out 320,000 cataract operations while also building sustainable eye care services that will benefit Indian people in the long term.

This work will cost £5 million. The Vision India appeal aims to raise £1 million towards this ambitious goal.

When I first learnt how cost-effective a sight-restoring cataract operation in India can be, (on average, £15 can help to fund one adult surgery), I was shocked to discover that in India today there are over 7.5 million people who are blind because of cataract.

The impact of blindness can be particularly detrimental for those people living in poverty, severely limiting the education, employment and quality of life of otherwise healthy people.

Vision India requires significant funding to make it happen. We are therefore asking for your support to raise £1 million to help make this a reality. Up to 50% of children who go blind across the world die within two years, so we need to act quickly. Please do think about how you can help us with this appeal. Together we can make an enormous difference to the lives of thousands of Indian people who are suffering unnecessarily."

With your help, Vision India will help to transform the lives of people like Suji Devi, 33, and her son Bala. Both Suji and Bala were born without sight, and were living in abject poverty at home in rural Rajasthan. Suji’s blindness made caring for her family very difficult and with little money available for food and clothes, treatment was out of the question. After attending a free screening camp run by our partners, both mother and child were identified as having cataract, and were operated on at a local hospital. After the sight-restoring surgery Suji was able to see her four-year-old son for the first time, and both now hold real hope for the future. Suji and Bala both feature in the short film, above.