This was Dr Sadhu Gupta’s first mission, where he was invited by a consultant colleague whom was regularly involved in these missions. His trip was funded by the charity work undertaken by the hospital but all the expenses were his own. This would be his first experience of helping people from an impoverished country and would affect him greatly in his career. The trip was extensive, travelling by air, land and sea in a boat filled with 600 people to reach this small village. They had to bring all their own equipment themselves which they would use for operating. Unfortunately upon arrival into Bangladesh they discovered that some of the important tools had been stolen which meant they needed to improvise to make the treatment happen; something that was particularly difficult considering the limitations of this small underprivileged town.
Everything was carried out manually; to sterilise, water had to be boiled with a gas burner to ensure the best possible hygiene. These measures along with queues of people, hot temperatures and poor lighting meant the trip was very trying at times. The camp was 6/7 days long, 4 days of consulting and surgery and the other two in training – this was to ensure that the local doctors were trained to offer the patients the correct after care long after they had left; otherwise the surgeries would not be possible. Upon completion of his first camp and what he had learnt; Dr Gupta was left inspired by the work that had been done and what had been achieved. He was overwhelmed by the thanks he received from the people he had treated and how the gift of sight had and would change their lives