Drishti eye camps have been operating for over the last 25 years.  Established by Dr Sadhu Gupta in the early 1990’s, the primary focus is to save the eyesight of hundreds of impoverished people around the world.  The first eye camp took place in Dhaka, Bangladesh in 1990 where leading ophthalmologist Dr Gupta worked in conjunction with a team of specialist Doctors from Delhi performing cataract operations on those not fortunate enough to have access to any medical care.

Other countries where Dr Gupta has performed eye camps over the years include India, Pakistan, Nepal, Ethiopia and Myanmar.

Led by Dr Gupta, working in collaboration with the National Society for the Prevention of Blindness in India, the team travel to some of the most isolated parts of the world by air, road and foot,  sometimes hiking for days to reach parts of the country and local communities where people are most in need.  After days of tireless travel the group sets up in make shift establishments consisting of school buildings or public halls to run a free eye camp for people in the area. Patients come from hillside villages and some of them walk for hours along with their families bringing their bedding and food for the duration of their stay.

The camp usually runs for up to a week offering free eye consultations and cataract operations to restore people’s sight. At each camp there is approximately 400-500 patients who are seen with 35-40 more complex operations undertaken by Dr Gupta in the most basic facilities. The work enables people to have their eye lenses replaced so that they can go back to work and look after themselves instead of having to be cared for by their families.

A key element of the camp in addition to treating patients is educating local doctors with the latest techniques and skills to ensure there is a lasting legacy of each eye camp.

During the course of the full project, the camps have treated several thousand patients. During the first few years the project was fully funded by Dr Gupta and his wife, Dr Pushpa Gupta who together took annual leave from their full time jobs in the medical profession to travel and carry out the treatment and many operations under local anaesthetic.

Over the years and as the eye camps continued to grow, the project was gradually funded by the generosity of the people of Inverclyde and surrounding areas through rigorous fund raising and awareness for such a worthwhile cause as well as Dr Gupta’s patients who have donated funds year after year.

Much of the fund raising efforts and co-ordination over the years has been with the help of local Nurse Manager Danny Chundoo, a fellow member of the team.

The most recent camp which was planned to be held in May 2015 at Raison Hospital, Kulli in India was sadly cancelled by locals due to a widespread infection outbreak.  There is however a further camp planned for early 2016 where both Dr Gupta and his wife will travel for a final time to Raison Hospital where in the past they have donated their own money to purchase hospital beds for patients to prevent them from having to lie on the floor during surgery.

Dr Sadhu Gupta explains “Working in Carlisle 4 days per week, time is of the essence but I always ensure that I find time to dedicate to the organising of the eye camps.  Working with the doctors out in Delhi, planning our camp locations and visits, prioritising the patients that we see, I get great pleasure in giving back to my native India and helping those who are in a less fortunate position when it comes to medical care. Nearest Doctors are sometimes over 100 miles from the towns and villages we go to and only offer private medical care, so there are thousands of people who struggle to seek the medical intervention they require.  That is why I am so passionate about the Drishti eye camps and working with the local doctors showing them new techniques.  If I can help someone so they have the ability to do the basics then I will and I am humbled by the thanks and gratitude that has been shown over the years.  I want to see people able to see what they are eating, able to see a few metres in front of them, able to see the clothes that they are wearing and my sincere thanks must be given to all those who have supported me and the eye camp fundraising over the years”.