The Hopefuls of Bagepalli

We left for Bagepalli early on the 21st of June, 2017. Two doctors, three nurses, an optometrist, a manager, a driver, and, of course, myself, the optimistic volunteer. After driving for nearly three hours, we arrived at the camp site a little after 9 in the morning. As we unloaded the van and moved the equipment, the school children gathered in the field watched us curiously. I followed the manager into the school’s basement which would soon be transformed into an eye camp.

Within the next ten minutes, prospective patients crowded the camp site. After they had completed the registration process, the patients were checked for blood pressure or sugar abnormalities. Those with uncontrolled hypertension or blood sugar levels were referred to the local hospital.

Equipped with merely a flashlight, the two doctors checked each patient for evident cataracts. Patients who may require surgery were requested to return the following day. A bus would take them to the Bangalore hospital for additional testing.

People of all ages attended the camp hoping to change the way they saw the world and over one hundred patients were accepted for treatment at the Bangalore hospital. Sankara visits Bagepalli regularly determined to eliminate curable blindness among the poor population. At the end of the day, I realized that their mission extends well beyond eye care. Sankara is a source of hope for the future — a hope that fate will change. I believe that this is the goal of Sankara. The gift of vision to see the light at the end of the tunnel.