Sankara Eye Foundation (SEF) is a federally recognized charity. Their mission is to reach out to the rural poor and provide quality eye care free of cost to the needy by building operationally self-sufficient super specialty eye care hospitals across India. Today, SEF, USA supports 11 Sankara Eye Hospitals and 8 Partner Eye Care Hospitals all across India and together performed 215,000 free eye surgeries in 2019.  Their vision is to perform 1 million eye surgeries annually by the year 2030.

Sankara Eye Foundation gets 4-star rating from Charity Navigator. Its trustworthy score is 100 of 100.
Charity Navigator – Rating for Sankara Eye Foundation, USA

Full disclosure – I am a long-time donor to Sankara Eye Foundation.

Major religions of the world pronounce
that a man’s true measure of worth
is not what he has but what he gives
Giving is how he leaves his mark on Earth
(All religious writings are male centric)

God gives all living creatures five senses
Life is not easy without any one of the five
Still, the most important sense is sight
Without sight, it is very hard to thrive
(Touch, sight, hearing, smell and taste)

Laws of evolution govern everything in nature
Human life span till recent was about forty*
Useful life of organs evolved accordingly –
needed to function only through life’s entirety
(*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_expectancy)

Now that we are living longer than before
Organs are failing while we are still alive
Eye lens is one such part, affecting vision
Quality of life due to blindness takes a nosedive

Most common ailment of sight is cataract
Its development begins at around sixty
Surgical corrective procedure is rather simple
But for India, a poor country, cases aplenty

A first-generation immigrant, full of guilt
wants to “give back” to parental land
Finding a reputable charity among myriads,
close fiduciary scrutiny, that it can withstand

The charity should offer multiple options,
should welcome support from all income level
make donors feel wanted and appreciated,
for the amount donated, do not snivel

Fortunately, we don’t have to look far
Such a charity shines in our midst
Sankara Eye Foundation is its name
It is for everyone who is an altruist

It builds eye hospitals in all parts of India
It offers free cataract surgery to thousands
Those who are too poor to get one elsewhere
can avail its services, it makes no demands

For $30 it offers the gift of eyesight to those
who may have lost hope to ever see again
Smiles on their faces and sparkles in their eyes,
through your donation, you can help them regain

You can donate towards building of hospitals,
or you can donate to 1 surgery/week campaign
That tax-deductible* donation will be used judicially
is a sacred vow that Sankara has humbly taken

Please join the thousands of your fellow humans
who have been proud and sustaining donors
You will revel in the joy of giving to a noble cause
Your contribution will be accorded the due honors.

You can make your tax-deductible* contribution by following the link below:
https://giftofvision.givecorps.com/projects/54184-vision-2030-capital-fund

Thank you for your gift of eyesight to the poor.

May God bless you.

*For tax -deductibility, please consult your tax advisor.