United Way of Bengaluru (UWB) organized a Walkathon to raise funds for cataract operations for the needy. Eminent sports personalities Anil Kumble, Pankaj Advani, Ashish Ballal, Ashwini Nacchappa, and Charu Sharma - along with about 500 other enthusiasts - walked around the city’s Cubbon Park at 7.15 am this morning to raise awareness for the cause.
UWB had organized the walk to collect funds to conduct 1,000 cataract operations free of cost for weaker sections of society, in rural areas surrounding Bangalore. Nearly 6,000 people of all age-groups – from over 55 companies – have spontaneously contributed to the cause. The walk was an expression of solidarity with those suffering from “needless blindness” merely due to a lack of financial means.
Charu Sharma, member on the Board of UWB, observed, “Supporting a worthy cause comes naturally to the people of Bangalore. The challenge lies in winning and retaining the trust of the people, and channelizing that natural concern into a force to raise community standards through voluntary participation. With its core strength of integrity and transparency, UWB is demonstrably an agent of social upliftment.”
Vivek Nagarkatti, Chairman, UWB said, “It is our mission to help build community capacity for a better quality of life in and around Bangalore, through voluntary giving and action. The energetic participation of so many volunteers and their response to such a noble cause is encouraging. It gives us hope and encouragement to implement our programs and plans for the future.”
Says Ashwini Kumar, Executive Director of UWB, “The Walkathon was successful beyond our expectations. We are happy that it has helped raise funds to help 1,000 needy people. These are people who will get their vision again, through a simple act of ours. Bangaloreans have demonstrated that we care.”
The cataract operations will be performed through the Sankara Eye Hospital. Many volunteers of Sankara Hospital themselves walked for the cause.
There are 161 million people in the world who are visually impaired. Of this, 70% are needlessly blind because they just can not afford to get care. 25% of the world’s blind population is in India. 1.4 million children below the age of 15 are blind. Females are at a higher risk of being visually impaired than males. 75% of what a child learns during the early years of life is through vision. 85% men and 58% women can return to work after a simple cataract surgery. Children can be prevented from becoming “needlessly” blind. An adult can become a breadwinner again. An elderly person can become independent, and regain his sense of dignity.
