Himalayan Cataract Project E-News: April 2011Here you will find news on our latest international eye care activities. This month’s newsletter includes:
- Charity Navigator rates HCP as one of the “10 Consistently Excellent Charities”
- HCP Co-Directors Drs. Tabin and Ruit together for cataract workshop in Nepal
- Boeing partners with HCP to deliver 3,600 pounds of ophthalmic equipment to Ethiopia
- HCP receives donation valued at $137,000 from Santen
- Dr. Ruit interviewed on ABC Radio Australia
- Dr. Tabin gives keynote at global health conference
- KATH administrator attends management training course in India
- HCP advocates for ongoing government support
- San Francisco Marathon
Charity Navigator rates HCP as one of the “10 Consistently Excellent Charities” Charity Navigator, America’s premier independent charity evaluator, works to advance a more efficient and responsive philanthropic marketplace by evaluating the financial health of over 5,500 of America’s largest charities. In late-April it rated HCP as one of the “10 Consistently Excellent Charities” after using three consecutive sets of fiscal year data. HCP Co-Directors Drs. Tabin and Ruit together for cataract workshop in NepalCo-Directors Drs. Geoff Tabin and Sanduk Ruit and a team from the Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology (TIO) managed an outreach event at the Dolakha Lions Community Eye Center, located in the mountainous district of Janakpur, Nepal.
During the event, the team screened 1,751 patients and provided 174 surgeries. Together HCP and TIO have made a long-term commitment to the eye center in Dolakha. The center will be upgraded to a community eye hospital, similar to the hospital in Hetauda, with improved surgical capacity.
Over the next several years, HCP and TIO will be providing increasing support in the way of training and equipment, bringing the center under the Tilganga umbrella and cycling Tilganga residents and doctors through the hospital on a regular basis.
Read more in the report on the Dolakha Outreach Micro-Surgical Eye Clinic (PDF, 145Kb). Boeing partners with HCP to deliver 3,600 pounds of ophthalmic equipment to EthiopiaHimalayan Cataract Project partnered with the Boeing Humanitarian Delivery Flights program to ship approximately 3,600 pounds of medical equipment in late-April to HCP’s partner the Quiha Zonal Hospital in Mekelle, Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Airlines flight contained five tons of books and medical supplies for three different non-profit organizations.
“We have been working on this shipment for over a year, securing 160 items of ophthalmic surgical equipment (including two high-quality Zeiss operating microscopes) worth close to $200,000 for Quiha’s new ophthalmic nurse training and surgical annex in Mekelle. Thanks to Don Goodman and the entire Boeing Humanitarian Delivery team for expertly handling the shipment of eight pallets. We are very appreciative of their efforts and for the support of Ethiopian Airlines. Thanks also to our partner Bill Shields and SightReach Surgical for their tireless efforts on the procurement.” — Job Heintz, HCP CEO HCP receives donation valued at $137,000 from SantenThe Himalayan Cataract Project received a generous contribution of 2,687 intraocular lenses (IOLs) from Santen Ltd. (Japan) and Advanced Vision Science (AVS), a California subsidiary of Santen Pharmaceutical Co. The IOLs, valued at over $137,000, will be used in HCP outreach programs in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Santen is a Japanese pharmaceutical company specializing in the development, manufacturing and marketing of ophthalmic and anti-rheumatic products to protect and improve people’s eyesight and health. Co-Director Dr. Ruit interviewed on ABC Radio AustraliaSydney ABC Radio’s Adam Spencer interviewed HCP Co-Director Dr. Sanduk Ruit while he was in Sydney for the Asia Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology conference earlier this month. Dr. Ruit explained his work and the inspiration behind it — due in large part to Dr. Fred Hollows, ophthalmologist and founder of The Fred Hollows Foundation.
Adam Spencer: “Does it feel good, to do your job, it must feel wonderful, the change you make?”
Dr. Ruit: “It is fantastic, Adam...when a patient gets their sight restored, there is nothing so beautiful as that.”
Visit this link to listen to the interview. Co-Director Dr. Tabin gives keynote at global health conference The University of Utah’s Global Health Initiative (GHI) held a Global Health Conference on April 22nd featuring a keynote by Co-Director Dr. Geoff Tabin who addressed “Sustainable Interventions and Training.”
Other speakers included Dr. Evan Lyon from Partners in Health and Gerald Brown from the Utah Refugee Services Office. | |
KATH administrator attends management training course in India | | 
Mr. Amankwaa in a training seminar.
|
Mr. Atta Amankwaa (Joseph) from Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), HCP’s partner in Ghana, is currently enrolled in a 42-day management training course for hospital administrators at the Lions Aravind Institute of Community Ophthalmology (LAICO) in India.
Joseph reports:
“I am thrilled by the quality of service and teaching here at Aravind — just a few weeks into the training has exposed me to wide array of systems development strategies to achieving optimal results in management.”
Joseph will be the Hospital Manager for the new stand-alone surgical training facility currently under construction. His goals for the management training are to establish an ideal patient flow for the new eye clinic, strengthen community outreach programs and human resource management, and create a business plan for a new optical shop. HCP in Washington to advocate for ongoing government support | | 
From the left: Pam Clapp, HCP; Congressman Peter Welch (VT); and other ASHA grantees.
|
Pam Clapp, HCP’s Project Manager, traveled to Washington to meet with members of Congress to advocate for continued funding for USAID’s American Schools and Hospitals Abroad (ASHA) Program for FY’12. HCP is a member of the ASHA Coalition, a group of over 20 institutions dedicated to transferring American expertise in healthcare and education in their overseas institutions.
The Coalition also met with USAID Deputy Administrator Jon C. Brause and new ASHA Director William H. Yaeger. At the time of the visit, the budget for FY’11 had not been finalized; however, it has since been level funded at $23.5 million. HCP has successfully competed for $5.1 million in USAID/ASHA funds since 2003 and has submitted two FY’12 requests for additional support in Ghana and Rwanda. HCP is an Affiliated Sponsor of the San Francisco MarathonHCP has become a charity sponsor of the San Francisco Marathon to raise awareness of preventable blindness in the developing world and is currently recruiting runners interested in joining our team. Full and half marathon slots are available. The marathon is Sunday, July 31. If you are interested, please email HCP Project Manager Pam Clapp at pclapp@[remove this text]cureblindness.org.
The Himalayan Cataract Project works to eradicate preventable and curable blindness through high quality ophthalmic care, education and the establishment of a world-class eye care infrastructure.
Please visit our Web site at www.cureblindness.org to keep up with the latest HCP news. There you will also find information on HCP’s finances, its founders, staff and board members, and ways that you can give the gift of sight.
Remember, through the Himalayan Cataract Project it takes a gift of only $20 to provide life-changing cataract surgery to someone struggling with blindness in the developing world. |
