Canara Bank supports Sankara Eye Hospitals’ ‘Gift of Vision’ Program with funding of Rs. 78.4 lakh
Canara Bank supports Sankara Eye Hospitals’ ‘Gift of Vision’ Program
with funding of Rs. 78.4 lakh
Bengaluru, 04 July, 2022: Canara Bank has now extended its support to Sankara Eye Hospitals’ ‘Gift
of Vision Program’ under its CSR initiative. Learning about the impact of this highly efficient social
cause, Canara Bank decided to support the initiative by providing three buses for outreach patients’
transportation and funding the Infrastructure & Instrumentation for one operation theatre at
handed over the cheque of Rs. 78.4 Lakhs towards this initiative to Dr. R. V. Ramani, Founder &
Managing Trustee, Sankara Eye Hospitals, in the presence of Dr. Y. Umesh, Chief medical officer, and
Mr. Gnanasekaran, Unit Head, Sankara Eye Hospitals.
Mr. Lakshmi Narayanan, former Executive Director, Canara Bank, Dr. Radha Ramani, Co-founder,
Sankara Eye Foundation, Dr. Kaushik Murali, President Medical Administration of Sankara Eye
hospitals were also present to witness this prestigious moment.
Launched in 1990, The Gift of Vision program operates by integrating with the community,
capitalizing on pre-existing community networks and a highly efficient patient care system that aims
at reaching out to rural poor at their door step and provide quality eye care, free of cost.
Shri. L V Prabhakar, Managing Director & CEO of Canara Bank, said, “Giving is something that is
central to our culture and we have been constantly supporting various hospitals, particularly during
the pandemic times. Eye health and vision rehabilitation ensures that people can pursue their
dreams. By supporting the Gift of Vision program, we want to ensure that healthcare reaches the
doorstep of anyone in need, thereby bridging the urban-rural gap and bringing eye care closer to
people.”
Dr. R.V. Ramani, Founder & Managing Trustee, Sankara Eye Hospitals, said,” We are seeing a huge
unmet eye care need in the country. Distance has been a barrier for the blind or visually impaired to
access our rehabilitation clinic from other parts of the state. We are now taking this very seriously
with no compromise on the quality of infrastructure. With the support of Canara Bank, we aim to
expand manifold eye screening programs in rural areas thereby providing high-quality eye care to
everyone irrespective of their socio-economic status.”
The Gift of Vision Program covers rural areas over a 400-km radius of Sankara Eye Hospitals located
across the country. Rural outreach camps are organized to identify beneficiaries with vision
impairment. The identified beneficiaries are then brought to Sankara Eye Hospitals, where they are
examined, assessed, undergo surgery if needed, receive medications and transported back to their
villages the next day. The treatment, transportation, medicines and boarding are provided
completely free of cost to patients. Review camps are conducted after a month of the surgery to
ensure zero post-operative complications. Free transport, meals & accommodation for patients at
base hospital have helped to overcome the economic barrier to reach out the community on a large
scale.
About Sankara Eye Foundation
Sankara Eye Foundation India is a Not-for-Profit organization committed to provide quality eye care
services to the poor and marginalized sections of the society. Started as a small primary health care
centre in the year 1977 by Dr R.V. Ramani and Dr Radha Ramani, today Sankara is one among the
largest and fastest growing social enterprises managing 12 super specialty eye care hospitals located
across Tamilnadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh,
Rajasthan and Maharashtra. Our Network Hospitals are equipped with state of the art technology to
perform advance eye surgeries. Sankara Eye Foundation India is a protagonist of National Eye Health
Care Movement in India, continuously transforming the eye care delivery structure through various
Eye Care Initiatives across age groups, cutting edge technology, scientific approach, innovation,
research & training.
