Light to Lives
Free eye camps. World-class surgery. Sight restored — at no cost to the patient.
A Programme That Has Changed 50,000 Lives Through Free Cataract Surgery and Sight Restoration
The Light to Lives programme by Suraj Eye Institute has been bringing free, comprehensive eye care to the most remote villages of Central India for over four decades. We identify patients with blinding cataract in their home communities — where no eye doctor has ever visited — and bring them free transport, free surgery, and free post-operative care at our state-of-the-art hospital in Nagpur. For a patient who has lost their livelihood and independence to preventable blindness, this programme is literally life-changing.
Do You Know India’s Blindness Crisis?
Test your knowledge — then discover how you can make a difference.
The Journey from Darkness to Light
How Suraj Eye Institute brings sight back to rural India — one village at a time
Village Survey
SEI teams map rural communities across Central India, identifying villages with high cataract burden and poor access to eye care. Geographic data and local health workers guide planning.
Bus Departs with Team
A fully equipped mobile eye care team — ophthalmologists, technicians, nurses — travels to remote villages. The SEI bus carries all instruments needed to perform an eye camp on-site.
Camp Registration
Villagers are registered, photographed for records, and given a health number. Volunteers from local NGOs and panchayats assist in mobilising patients and managing crowds.
Community Screening
Visual acuity is tested for every patient. Those with significant vision loss are fast-tracked for detailed examination. Special attention is given to elderly patients who have never seen a doctor.
Slit Lamp Examination
A specialist ophthalmologist examines each patient with a slit lamp microscope at the camp itself — a level of care rarely available outside cities. Cataract, glaucoma, and corneal disease are identified on the spot.
Fundus Evaluation
The back of the eye (retina) is examined using a fundus camera or indirect ophthalmoscopy. Diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration, and other conditions are diagnosed.
Systemic Examination
Blood pressure, blood glucose, and general fitness are assessed before surgery is recommended. This comprehensive care ensures safe outcomes — even for elderly and diabetic patients.
Journey to Hospital
Patients selected for surgery travel free of charge to Suraj Eye Institute, Nagpur — often their first trip to a city. Transport, accommodation, meals, and all hospital charges are provided at no cost.
Advanced Examination
At the hospital, patients receive a full pre-operative work-up: biometry, keratometry, corneal topography, and dilated fundus exam. Only the very best IOL power calculation is used for each individual eye.
Cataract Surgery
State-of-the-art phacoemulsification surgery — the same technology used in the world’s leading hospitals — restores clear vision in a 20-minute procedure. A premium intraocular lens replaces the cloudy one.
Post-Operative Care
Patients are monitored over 1–2 days at the hospital. Vision is tested, eye drops are prescribed, and discharge instructions are given. Follow-up is arranged in the patient’s home village.
Vision Restored — Home!
A patient who could not see their grandchildren’s faces boards the bus home — and sees their village clearly for the first time in years. One surgery. A lifetime of sight.
Give the Gift of Sight
A single cataract surgery at Suraj Eye Institute costs just ₹4,000 for a patient from the Light to Lives programme.
That is the cost of restoring someone’s sight — permanently.
Scan to Donate
BHIM UPI · Any amount
UPI ID
8007870004@sbi
Organisation
Om Drishti Trust
State Bank of India
🏛️ Tax Benefit — 50% under Section 80G
Your donation qualifies for a 50% income tax deduction under Section 80G of the Indian Income Tax Act. An 80G certificate will be provided upon request.
Suraj Eye Institute is a non-profit institution registered under the Maharashtra Public Charitable Trust Act. All donations support free surgeries for patients from rural communities who cannot afford care.
Inside a Light to Lives Camp
Each camp brings together trained ophthalmologists, optometrists, nurses, and volunteers. Over a single day, they examine hundreds of patients in temporary examination stations set up in village schools, community halls, or under open skies. The standard of examination is equal to any urban clinic.
World-Class Surgery — Free for Every Patient
Phacoemulsification: The Gold Standard
Every patient operated under the Light to Lives programme receives phacoemulsification cataract surgery — the same technique used at the world’s leading eye hospitals. A tiny incision, ultrasound removal of the clouded lens, and implantation of a premium intraocular lens restores sharp vision within 24 hours. The surgery takes just 15–20 minutes, yet its impact lasts a lifetime. Not a single patient pays a rupee.
The Moment That Makes It All Worthwhile
From Darkness to Light
When a patient who has been blind for years removes their eye patch the morning after surgery and sees the face of their child or grandchild for the first time in years, words fail to capture that moment. The Central India Eye and Medical Study (CIEMS) — one of the world’s largest population-based eye studies, conducted in Nagpur — documented that cataract is the single leading cause of blindness in Central India, affecting 74.9% of people over 60. Every surgery we perform strikes directly at the heart of this burden.
The Scale of India’s Cataract Crisis — and Our Response
~12M
Blind people in India
VLEG / GBD 2019
66%
Blindness caused by cataract
VLEG — India-wide
74.9%
Cataract prevalence in 60+ age
CIEMS — Central India
₹4,000
Cost of one surgery that restores
a lifetime of sight — fully free
Give the Gift of Sight
A single cataract surgery at Suraj Eye Institute costs just ₹4,000 for a Light to Lives patient.
That is the cost of restoring someone’s sight — permanently.
Scan to Donate — Any Amount
BHIM UPI · Instant & Secure
UPI ID
8007870004@sbi
Organisation
Om Drishti Trust
State Bank of India
🏛 Tax Benefit — 50% under Section 80G
Your donation qualifies for a 50% income tax deduction under Section 80G of the Indian Income Tax Act. An 80G certificate will be provided on request.
Suraj Eye Institute is a registered non-profit under the Maharashtra Public Charitable Trust Act. All donations fund free surgeries for rural patients who cannot afford care.
Grounded in Evidence. Guided by Research.
The Light to Lives programme is informed by the Central India Eye and Medical Study (CIEMS), a landmark population-based cohort study conducted by Suraj Eye Institute, Nagpur, documenting the prevalence, causes, and risk factors of blindness and eye disease across Central India. It is complemented by data from the Vision Loss Expert Group (VLEG), contributing to the Global Burden of Disease 2019 study, which estimates India carries approximately 20% of the world’s blind population. Together, these studies confirm that cataract remains the dominant, preventable cause of blindness — and that community outreach programmes like Light to Lives are the single most effective intervention available.