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Emotional families

In India, millions of rural underprivileged live life needlessly blind. Unable to do even their basic daily tasks by themselves they suffer financially and emotionally. And so do their families.

It’s tragic, because there is a solution to being needlessly blind – a  simple eye surgery. It’s quick. It’s free. And it’s effective.

For the person, the difference is life-changing – going from darkness 

to light!

Experts know that the solution has to be applied at scale, because every passing year millions more join the ranks of the needlessly blind. When the need is in ten million surgeries annually, doing tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands, is just not enough.

As the world's largest free eye-care program, we are the vanguards of the movement. But the need is much, much more! And we cannot close our eyes to that reality. As we gear up to serve millions more every year, we need your support NOW more than ever before.

Stories Of Impact

$30 cost of surgery

98% success rate

3 days to restore vision

Why should anyone live

life needlessly blind ?

Tears of joy!

Tears of joy!

23 year old Pinky sat weeping at the Government Community Service Centre, Mahadaleshwar (Madhya Pradesh) as she awaited the Sankara optometrist to give further instructions.

A proud father!

A proud father!

Shanker is the proud father of little Chhoti Kumari, a 13-year-old smart Math genius.Chhoti Kumari loves biking and acing her math exams in school. But all this became a distant reality when, last year, her eyesight.

Maaji, dekh sakte ho?

Maaji, dekh sakte ho?

For someone who had thought she had gone permanently blind, Sabra Khatun, from one of the most impoverished villages in remote Bihar, was surprised when she made her first journey till the eye camp.

Vision 2030: March To A Million

We decided to raise the bar from 356,000 free surgeries annually to
1 million every year with our March to a Million initiative!

Agreed it is an audacious goal.
But if anyone can do it – working together, WE CAN!
Many dismissed our vision as a 'pipe dream'.
Many simply told us we were overambitious.
But no one could deny the urgent need to
increase surgeries.

With your support we can lead a million lives from darkness
to light – every year.

USA performs 14,000 surgeries per million population

India performs 6,000 surgeries per million population. Our goal is to more than double our capacity to match developed countries such as the USA

25+ Years Of Building The Largest Free Eye Surgery Program In The World

Today, we are the single largest free eye surgery program in the world with the support of 60,000+ donors

our hospitals

27 Hospitals across India

Hospitals across India

With a capacity for a whopping 632,000 free 
eye surgeries annually, our hospitals performed 364,000 free eye surgeries in FY '23 alone.

states covered

14 States covered

States covered

Sankara is the only national player covering 
the most populous states of India - 
Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chattisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Telangana, 
Tamil Nadu, UP, Uttarakhand and West Bengal.

our strength

500 Million+

Population covered in India

Our outreach programs serve the rural poor of all ages in the states where we operate. Those at risk are brought from their villages, treated, and then safely returned—all free of charge. The entire process takes a mere 3 days!

Vision 2030: The Journey Of A Thousand Miles

march to a million

To perform 1 Million free surgeries by 2030 in our “March To A Million” initiative,
we need to double our current surgery capacity by 2028.

Double the number of hospitals working at full strength;

Double the number of doctors, nurses, medical equipment;

Double all infrastructure - in the next four years!

That’s right! What we achieved in the past 25 years is what we want to achieve again but in four years!

Will you not help us face the challenge?

March To A Million - Milestones

2028

Build/expand hospitals to increase capacity to

1 million free eye surgeries per year

632,000

Free capacity

2023-24*

2030

Scale operations to perform

1 million free eye surgeries per year

364,000

Free eye surgeries

2023-24*

2035

Hospitals can financially self-sustain

1 million free eye surgeries per year

230,000

Free sustainable surgeries

2023-24*

Consider this: A million free surgeries a year means
two free surgeries per minute, every minute, all year round.

*2023 - refers to Fiscal Year 2023-24 (Apr 1, 2023-Mar 31, 2024). Similarly, for all-year references.

March To A Million: A Race Against Time

We are well on our way, having launched 4 new hospital projects in 2023 with plans to inaugurate 8 more by 2028.

This has increased our annual free surgery capacity from 490,000 in 2022* to 632,000 in 2023*.

H.V. Desai Eye Hospital

H.V. Desai Eye Hospital, Pune

Annual Capacity: 37,000


Planned Vision 2030 impact 55,000


Inaugurated (Expansion) - 2023

R.J. Sankara, Varanasi

R.J. Sankara, Varanasi

Annual Capacity: 30,000

Planned Vision 2030 impact 30,000


Inauguration: October 2024.

H.V.Desai Eye Hospital, Solapur

H.V.Desai Eye Hospital, Solapur

Annual Capacity: 20,000

Planned Vision 2030 impact 20,000


Inauguration: 2025.

Kalyanam Karoti, Mathura

Kalyanam Karoti, Mathura

Planned Vision 2030 impact 30,000


Annual Capacity: 60,000

Inauguration: November 2024

H.V. Desai Eye Hospital, Pune

Annual Capacity: 55,000


Planned Vision 2030 impact 55,000


Inaugurated (Expansion) - 2023

R.J. Sankara, Varanasi

Annual Capacity: 30,000

Planned Vision 2030 impact 30,000


Inauguration: October 2024.

Shankarseth Sabale Eye Hospital, Solapur

Annual Capacity: 20,000

Planned Vision 2030 impact 20,000


Inauguration: 2025.

Kalyanam Karoti, Mathura

Annual Capacity: 50,000


Planned Vision 2030 impact 50,000


Inauguration: 2023

Your Support Is Crucial In The March To A Million Journey

Open an Eye

Support free eye surgeries.
Help patients regain sight.

$360 Open an eye a month

$1,500 Open an eye a week

DONATE NOW

Become a Founding Donor

Donate to build or expand

a hospital of your choice

$1,000 Wall of Founders

$5,000 Golden Wall of Founders

$10,000 Platinum Wall of Founders

DONATE NOW

Be a Vision Champion

Give recurring donations

to support our March to a Million

DONATE NOW

$2,000 Every Year for 5 Years

$5,000 Every Year for 5 Years

$10,000 Every Year for 5 Years

To donate a facility or an entire wing please contact us for personalised recommendations.

Vision Superheroes - Together, We March To A Million

Hear from our Vision Superheroes, our partners and donors who have gone above and beyond to Give the Gift of Vision.

Dr. R. V. Ramani

Dr. R. V. Ramani

Founder and Managing Trustee of
Sankara Eye Foundation

Padma Shri awardee Dr. R.V. Ramani
is a visionary who has established
world-class free eye-care for those
in need.

Mr. Mritunjay Tiwari

Mr. Mritunjay Tiwari

Founder and Chairman of
Akhand Jyoti Eye Hospitals

Mritunjay Tiwari's presence itself is an inspiration to the thousands of people who have had the fortune of meeting him, knowing him, and learning from him.

Mr. Parvez Billimoria

Mr. Parvez Billimoria

Executive Director
H V Desai Eye Hospital

Pervez Billimoria, the Executive Director of
HV Desai Eye Hospital, Pune has taken
the Vision 2030 March to a
Million pledge.

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Give With Confidence

Charity Navigator

Sankara Eye Foundation, USA is a proud holder of the Platinum Seal of Transparency 2024 from Candid Guidestar.

Charity Navigator

For 9 years in a row, the Sankara Eye Foundation, USA earned the prestigious 4-star rating from
Charity Navigator,
USA's leading charity rating agency. The ratings are based on a non-profit’s financial health, commitment to accountability,
and transparency.

Sankara Eye Foundation, USA

Sankara Eye Foundation, USA, was honored as the Organization of the Year, 2023 by the South Asian Times for its commitment to the cause of eliminating curable blindness in India.