omlog: a blog by Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai, India!

Haresh N Shah, Trustee of Indumati Shah Charity Trust donated towards the Outreach programme of Sankara Nethralaya

Thank You sir. Your help will make a immediate difference in the life of many.

Mr V Jagannathan, chairman cum MD, star health & allied Insurance and his team donated to SN on 17-09-2007

Thank you sir for you Kindness.

Mrs Vatsala Srinivasan donated to Sankara Nethralaya on 17-09-2007

Thank you Mam, your generosity will make an immediate difference in lives of lot of people.

A word of Thanks

We are very glad to thank Mr. M. Sambasivam, employee of Sankara Nethralaya, who has willingly donated his salary(for the month of August) to the organization.

                        

As our Former President rightly said about Sankara Nethralaya as the "Temple of eye", this organization gives us the oppurtunity & responsibility to serve the under previliged sections of the society.

Thank You Mr Sambasivam.

Generous Donation's

Mr. R.C. Parekh, Medical Research Foundation Board Member visited Sankara Nethralaya and made a generous donation to the Institution which was handed over to the Chairman( Elect) Dr. Lingam Gopal in the presence of Chairman Dr S S Badrinath, Mr. V. Vaidyanathan and Col. Raghavan.

Mr. Viral K. Purohit, Trustee and Mr. Nalianbhai Vyas, Vice Chairman of G.H. Bhakta Foundation, Navasari visited Sankara Nethralaya on 20th June 2006.  They were taken on tour of the hosital.  They made a generous donation to the Chairman Dr. S. S. Badrinath.

Shri. S. V. Acharya, Honorary Treasurer, Sanakara Nethralaya OM Trust has contributed a generous amount to the cause of Sankara Nethralaya.

You just need a heart to help!

In today’s materialistic world, when most people say “I would just love to donate if only my salary was a little higher”, “I will start supporting this cause when I get a promotion”, Mr. S. Arunachalam proved that to help, to donate, you just need a large and kind heart.

The Sankara Nethralaya Rural Mobile Tele-ophthalmology unit visited Keezh Pennathur, a small village in Tiruvannamalai district north of Chennai. As usual the team went about their work in screening the people and arranging for tele-consultations for those patients who required it. Watching the activities of the team was Mr. Arunachalam who had come to the camp. He underwent examination and tele-consultation. While leaving, he praised the activities of the team and gave a donation of Rs.200 from his pension. He said that he felt it was his duty to give what he could for a good cause and therefore came forward to donate a part of his pension.

We salute Mr. Arunachalam who has proved that to give all that one needs is a heart!

Dr. Mohan Rajan Visited Sankara Nethralaya

Dr. Mohan Rajan Alumni of Sankara Nethralaya visited the hospital on March 30, 2006 and met the Chairman. Dr. Mohan Rajan and his wife Dr. Sujatha Mohan also alumni of Sankara Nethralaya run the Rajan Eye Care Hospital in Chennai. Dr. Mohan Rajan during his meeting  with the chairman made a donation towards Sankara Nethralaya.

Mr. S. Rajarathinam From Auto Tech Industries

Mr. S. Rajarathinam, Director, Auto Tech Industries Limited visited Sankara Nethralaya on March 25, 2006 and made a donation to Vision Research Foundation.

Mr. S. Rajarathinam has been supporting Sankara Nethralaya since 1997. He first visited Sankara Nethralaya in 1996 when his father got operated.

Mr. S. Rajarathinam came to Chennai in 1972 from his native village, Kantramanickam, near Karaikudi. In his words, he came to Chennai with just a couple of hundred rupees in his purse. After working for a manufacturing firm for 10 years he started his own manufacturing unit in a small way. Today he employs over 600 people. His unit manufactures automotive engine and gear box components.

A "Different" Donation

Dr. M. Raghavachari from United States of America has donated a few hundred shares of Hindustan Lever Limited to Medical Research Foundation.

Sankara Nethralaya family salutes his generousity.

Mr. Bijesh Thakker and Mrs. Sangita Thakker visited Sankara Nethralaya

Mr. Bijesh Thakker and Mrs. Sangita Thakker visited Sankara Nethralaya on March 11, 2006. They are the solicitors from Mumbai. They are also donors & well-wisher of Sankara Nethralaya. They made a donation towards the new project of Vision Research Foundation - the National Institute for Research in Vision Science and Ophthalmology (NIRVO). They were taken on a tour of the hospital.

Prof. Raghavachary From Albany

Prof. Raghavachary from Albany, New York, visited Sankara Nethralaya on March 9, 2006 along with his wife. He met the Chairman Dr. S. S. Badrinath and made a donation towards free cataract surgeries. Prof. Raghavachery was taken on a tour of the hospital including the Teleophthalmology Department. He is a retired professor of Statistics. Impressed with the work being done by Sankara Nethralaya, he promised to speak to his friends in the US about Nethralaya.

(For donating to support our community services, you can contact Ms. Akila Ganesan at akila@snmail.org in India or Mr. S.V. Acharya at acharya@omtrust.org. Do visit our websites www.sankaranethralaya.org and www.omtrust.org to know more about us)

Donating For The Cause Of Ophthalmic Research

Mr. Ashok Saini, Vice-President - Special Projects, Goodlass Nerolac Paints Ltd., Mumbai, visited Sankara Nethralaya today. Goodlass Nerolac has donated towards the new project of Vision Research Foundation - the National Institute for Research in Vision Science and Ophthalmology (NIRVO).

The National Institute for Research in Vision Science and Ophthalmology (NIRVO), which will be a part of Vision Research Foundation, is Sankara Nethralaya's ambitious project to take ophthalmic research in India to the next level. The National Institute for Research in Vision Science and Ophthalmology (NIRVO) will encompass advanced research in Nanotechnology, Stem Cell Research, Biomedical Engineering research and Preventive Ophthalmology. Sankara Nethralaya is looking for like minded individuals who will support this project, which will place India on the world map of ophthalmic research.

A Notable Donation For A Valuable Cause!!

Dr. S. Ramakrishnan, MA, PhD, F.A.M.S., Prof & Head, Department of Biochemistry, Vision Research Foundation presented a cheque to Dr. S. S. Badrinath as a contribution towards Vision Research Foundation. He said that the donation was towards setting up of the Research Facility in the new building which is coming up for Advanced Research activities.

Dr. Ramakrishnan said that his was "a humble contribution to Medical and Vision Research Foundation like that of a squirrel in the 'Sethubandana' in Ramayana". (The Ramayana has it that while the bridge was being built connecting India and Lanka, a tiny squirrel carried pebbles to fill in the holes between large boulders.)

Sankara Nethralaya family salutes Dr. Ramakrishnan for his generosity.

Notable Visits

Mr. Ravi Mehra, Managing Director of Eye Tech Industries, Mumbai, Mr. Gary, Service Engineer, Topcon, Singapore and Mr. Sambandan, Director, Suraj Eye Tech (P) Ltd, Chennai visited Sankara Nethralaya on 17th January 2006. Mr. Ravi Mehra handed over a cheque of Rs. 60,000 to Dr. Lingam Gopal towards sponsorship to our website Ekalavya in the presence of Mr. T. Rathinam and Mr. V. Murali of Sankara Nethralaya. They also visited Sankara Nethralaya Teleopthalmology Department.

A Personal Year-End Appeal

From Sankara Nethralaya OM Trust, Inc. board member Shankar Iyer:

Nithya and our children Anita, Sanjay & Sainath join me in wishing you and all yours a very happy, healthy and prosperous New Year - a year that is suffused with the Divine Love and Grace of BhagavAn Shri Satya SAI BABA, making every moment of the year His Divine present. We wish and pray for you, as you are an important part of our lives. Thank you for being a part of our circle of nearest & dearest.

The advent of a New Year marks important beginnings and transitions. In this spirit, I appeal to your noble selves - for making a commitment to continue to support the Sankara Nethralaya Ophthalmic Mission Trust in its service to the needy visually impaired & blind in India.

http://www.omtrust.org/index.html

http://www.sankaranethralaya.org/ (to learn more about the world-renowned Sankara Nethralaya, one of Asia's premier charitable ophthalmic care institutions)

Your donations - of endowed surgeries and monthly contributions - make it possible to save the vision of thousands who may otherwise go blind for lack of timely diagnosis and treatment. Every $50/- you donate - and that is tax-deductible - goes to treat another poor human. Every $500/- you donate - and that too is tax-deductible - endows a free surgery for a poor fellowman, performed every year on a day that is very special to you: what a noble way to mark an anniversary, a birthday or any other day that is special to you.

As the year draws to its end, I request you to take the following actions - do, be and tell - as BhagavAn SAI urges:

DO: please make a tax-deductible donation to the Sankara Nethralaya Ophthalmic Mission Trust, Inc., to endow one or more free surgeries on your special day - performed year after year. You can mail the donation check to our Treasurer Shri S. V. Acharya at:

SN Ophthalmic Mission Trust, Inc.,
14613 Pommel Drive,
Rockville, MD 20850

OR mail your check to me, at: 3309 Rocky Mount Road, Fairfax VA 22031-3023

DO: please make a monthly recurring donation - of $50, $75, $100 ... or any amount you can; you can make these tax-deductible donations at our website here:

https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?aid=108

As a donor supporting our noble cause, please BE an active ambassador; please TELL your friends and relatives about this noble cause, and invite them to join you, in this service to the poor visually impaired & blind. If every one brings the message home to even a few friends and relatives and urges them to join this cause, we will have a ground-swell of support.

As always, my thanks in advance for your continued loving support, and now, for your enhanced noble resolve to increase your commitment to this cause.

Love, best wishes and warmest regards. SvAmi SharaNam, SAIRAM.

Shankar A. Iyer
December 23, 2005

With Love from Italy

Ms. Alessandra Gava and Mr. Federico Donega an Italian couple residing in Chennai, visited Sankara Nethralaya in February 2005 when Ms. Gava needed ophthalmic care and has been a patient of Dr. Tarun Sharma since then.

They heaved a sigh of relief when their personal doctor in Italy asked Gava to continue with her treatment and not to return to Italy when he was informed that they were obtaining treatment at Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai.

They were so very impressed with the facilities and treatment obtained and decided to not only make a donation but took necessary materials and literatures to speak about Sankara Nethralaya back home.

Ms. Alessandra Gava and Mr. Federico Donega  seen in the above picture with our Chairman Dr. S.S. Badrinath.

Act of kindness

Guru Brahma Guruh Vishnu, Guru Devo Maheshvaraha, Guruh Sakshath Parabramha ,Tasmai Sree Guruve Namah! is the favourite prayer for sixteen year old Ms. Priya Shankar a student of class ten and a resident of Fermont, California, United States of America. American born and American bred, she is in the know of the untold miseries suffered by the poor children in India. She could not wait to grow up to earn a salary to do something for these poor children of God. She got a brilliant idea. She obtained training from Guru Ms. Indumathy Ganesh and gave a scintillating Bharatanatyam performance at the Jackson Theatre of Oblone College in Fermont. The enthralled audience responded to her appeal and contributed. Priya's 81 year old Grandmother visited Sankara Nethralaya this morning and gave a cheque for Rupees Ten Thousand to be used for performing Cataract surgery on four children. We are touched by her magnanimity at the very young age and pray to the Almighty to bless Priya with all that she deserves.

Research & Ethics

We would like to let you know that the Research and Ethics subcommittee meeting of the Vision Research Foundation was held on April 6, 2005.

Dr. Rajiv Raman presented on the ICDs in regional languages and patient diary related to the project titled “Reduction in the occurrence of center-threatening diabetic macular edema”, which was approved by the Research and Ethics subcommittee on December 4, 2004.

The following new proposals were presented and discussed:

Dr. Arunkumar Narayanasamy presented the project titled "An open, non-comparative, multicentre study to assess efficacy and safety of fixed dose combination of Timolol 0.5% and Dorzolamide 2% ophthalmic solution in patients with open angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension."

Dr. Angayarkanni presented the project on "Tear Proteomics in dry eye syndrome (DES) – A preliminary study."

Dr. Narayani C. Moorthy presented the project titled "Diabetic Retinopathy : Functional Genomics – Gene expression profiles."

Dr. S. Ambika presented her project on "Asian collaborative longitudinal optic neuritis epidemiology."

Dr. S. Meenakshi presented the project titled "Central corneal thickness (CCT) in a pediatric population and its relationship to intraocular pressure."

Ms. Dharani presented her project titled "Gene mapping for Myopia and identification of environmental risk factors for myopia progression in subjects with gentle susceptibility."

Notable Donations

Mr. Ritish Shah of Nairobi, Kenya called on our Chairman to express the gratitude of his family on the successful surgery and treatment given by Dr. Lingam Gopal to his mother Smt. Ratanben.  He made a donation of Rs.1lakh to Medical Research Foundation towards performing a free major surgery on an indigent patient perpetually on the birthday of his daughter Ms. Arshi every November 30.

Mr. P. N. Ramalingam, Advocate on Record - Supreme Court met with our Chairman and made a donation of Rs. 1 lakh to Medical Research Foundation.

Serving Beyond

Mr. D. Srinivaasa Murthy from Chennai is a retired employee of The State Bank of India. He is a pensioner and could lead a relaxed retired life like any other pensioner. However, he has decided to be different from the rest. He has donated a sum of Rs. 5,000/- to perform 2 one-time minor surgeries for deserving poor patients. He has designated a large part of his pension as a donation to Sankara Nethralaya for performing free operations. As an inspired well-wisher, he has also planned to donate further to this cause.

Thank you Mr. Murthy!

Ayyappa

In a well attended gathering on October 24, 2004 the legendary music director Mr. M. S. Viswanathan released an audio cassette called "Svamiye Saranam Ayyappa" to Mr. Murali, the co-owner of Sri Krishna Sweets.

The ten devotional songs on the album were composed by Lalgudi G.J.R. Krishnan and rendered by Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi, the famous violinist and Mr. Shanker A. Iyer, a Sankara Nethralaya OM Trust Board Member.

United India Insurance Donates

United India Insurance gave Rs.3,00,000 to Sankara Nethralaya and sponsored a room in the main building. Mr. V. Jagannathan, Chairman UII and his team came to our facility and handed a check to our Vice Chairman Dr. T. S. Surendran on October 18, 2004. We would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their generosity.

Gmail

Please read this. Then, spread the word.

A Trusted Recognition

The Sir Ratan Tata Trust is one of India’s oldest grant-bestowing foundations. It was established in 1918, following the death of Sir Ratan Tata, and it operates in accordance with his will. Sir Ratan wanted to establish a trust that would help further "the advancement of education, learning and industry in all its branches."

Trustees of the Sir Ratan Tata Trust have approved a Corpus fund grant of Rs. 55,000,000 ($ 1.1 million) to Medical Research Foundation (MRF), a unit of Sankara Nethralaya.

Their letter of May 26, 2004 addressed to Sankara Nethralaya's Chairman Dr. S.S. Badrinath, states:

"The Corpus Fund Grant to the Medical Research Foundation has been awarded by the Trust in recognition of its pioneering work since 1978, as a Mission Driven Institution."

The grant spread over the next five years commencing from June 1, 2004 will be disbursed in instalments. In an appraisal conducted by the Trust in December 2002 and May 2003, they have observed that Medical Research Foundation has all the characteristics of a HIGH PERFORMING KNOWLEDGE INSTITUTION (HPKI) – mission driven, a proven track record, acknowledged nationally and internationally for its expertise and excellence in Ophthalmic care with almost all eye sub-specialities, good management systems, a vibrant set of human resources and a participative system of decision-making.

The Trust further extends every good wish for the successful future to the Medical Research Foundation.