WE'RE CURING BLINDNESS IN NEPAL

Ridley Eye Foundation is dedicated to providing quality eye care services & curing blindness in Nepal. Our goal is to bring the gift of sight to those in need.

We need your help. Every donation funds small incision cataract surgery for those most in need.

What are the most common cause of blindness in Nepal? There is a high prevalence of blindness in Nepal. How many people are blind in Nepal? Can we cure blindness in Nepal? Where can we go to get help for blindness in Nepal? How to treat Cataracts Blindness in Nepal. Blindness in Nepal needs to be treated. Cataract Treatment Nepal is provided by Ridley Eye Foundation. Cataracts Nepal and Blindness Nepal needs your donations.

REF CAMP INSIGHT

Tripurakot, Dolpa, Karnali 2023 camp

A CAMP AT-A-GLANCE

Tripurakot, Dolpa, Karnali

Cataracts Nepal

Due to the remoteness of the Tripurasundari Municipality in Dolpa, access was only by charter plane and jeep convoy. Power at the clinic was limited to batteries charged by solar panels, and the clinic lacked running water.

Cataracts Nepal

Dr. Krishna, the surgical ophthalmologist from the Himalaya Eye Institute, performed over 40 surgeries, including a young woman who had recently blinded herself in one eye and urgently needed an IoL transplant.

Cataracts Nepal

As word spreads to the surrounding villages, often clinics can be over-run by men, women and children in need of healthcare, many urgently. The medical team work through the day to provide relief where they can.

2040m

elevation above sea level

900

total number of patients screened

46

surgeries performed at camp clinics

3

additional surgeries including eye trauma

52

average age of clinic patient

Stories from Kirtipur

At only 40 years of age this patient had developed cataracts in both eyes and was effectively blind. After surgery she was excited to have her sight restored on her left eye.

Purna has returned to an eye camp, having had his right eye operated on previously. He was developing cataracts in the left eye and needed a general screening for overall eye health.

Meera came by motorbike to the camp at the request of her daughter-in-law. After screening she was found to have cataracts in her left eye. 5 years ago Meera had visited an eye camp, and received cataract surgery on her right eye.

WE ARE A CHARITY THAT BELIEVES IN PARTNERSHIPS

Meet the men and women changing lives.
Dr. Aric Blindness in Nepal
Kirtipur Eye Hospital

Dr. Aric Vaidya, Director of Kirtipur Eye Hospital.
“As the Medical Director of Kirtipur Eye Hospital, my mission is to combat darkness and restore the light of hope to those suffering from blindness. Through compassion, expertise, and unwavering dedication, we strive to bring the gift of sight back to those who have longed for it, illuminating their lives with the brilliance of vision restored.”

Dr. Aric Vaidya is a Consultant Oculoplastic & Cataract surgeon working at Kirtipur Eye Hospital for around 1 and ½ years. After completing his MD Ophthalmology from BPKIHS, he worked at Rapti Eye Hospital, Dang. He completed his 1-year fellowship training in Oculoplastic, Orbital & Lacrimal Surgery from Aichi Medical University Hospital, Japan in 2020 and Phacoemulsification training from Kushimoto Arita Hospital, Japan in 2020. He has published more than 40 pubmed indexed papers in different international journals. He is a lifetime member of Nepal Ophthalmic Society, Nepalese Society of Oculoplastic Surgeons and Asia Pacific Society of Ophthalmic, Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery.

Angira Shrestha
Dhulikhel Community Hospital

Dr. Angira Shrestha, Registrar, Department of Ophthalmology
“I was fortunate to work in the newly established department of ophthalmology at Dhulikhel Hospital in 2006 as a medical officer. That helped me gain an in-depth understanding of the need and scope of the field of eye care in Nepal”

Dr. Angira has extensive experience at eye hospitals across Nepal. Upon completing her residency at ONAMS, and after a directorship at a hospital in Hetauda she travelled to the United States to work with Dr. Russel Van Gelder, researching and advancing eye treatment and care. Upon returning to Nepal, Dr. Angira has been working with Dhulikhel for more than 4 years expanding the rural eye programmes, and surgical programmes alongside education and training improvements. 

Cataracts Nepal
Himalaya Eye Hospital, Pokhara

Professor Eliya Shrestha, Medical Director, HEH
“Being an Ophthalmologist and working as a Medical Director in The Himalaya Eye Hospital has been a great honour to me. It is very satisfying to see blind people smiling after regaining their sight through surgery. It is my great privilege to serve the needy blind people.”

Dr. Eilya has been with the team at HEH for nearly 15 years. After graduating in Bangladesh she worked at Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu. In 2009 she participated in a fellowship at LVPEI, India.  In 2013 Eliya had a Fellowship in Ocular oncology at Wills Eye Hospital in the USA. She has since routinely published in her field and is a lifetime member of both the Nepalese and Indian Ophthalmic Societies.

Cataracts Nepal
Nepal Netra Jyoti Sangh (NNJS)

The NNJS is a non-profit making, non-governmental, welfare oriented social organisation representing the Government of Nepal and the Social Welfare Council of Nepal in the sphere of eye care activities. It oversees implementation of the government’s national eye care programme. It currently has 21 hospitals and 126 eye care clinics within its portfolio making it the largest non-governmental ophthalmic welfare organisation in Nepal. REF, after working in collaboration with NNJS since 2019, established a formal Memorandum of Understanding with NNJS in May 2022.

PARTNERS :

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