Visit to N. R. Doshi Eye Hospital – Wankaner, Gujarat, India.

February 2015

In December 2014 my wife Nayna and I visited a charity-run eye hospital in a small

town called Wankaner, about 60 km north of Rajkot.

This was the N.R. Doshi Eye Hospital, which is run by Devdaya Charitable Trust.

Devdaya Charitable Trust, administered out of the U.K., undertakes many charitable

causes in India, and this hospital is but one aspect of its work. For more information and

details you can visit their website http://devdaya.org.uk

We were there to see for ourselves the proceedings of a children’s eye clinic (although

this was just for children, adult patients were not turned away). This clinic, which is free

to the needy, runs about once a month, and usually there are donors sponsoring some

of the operating costs.

We were there for two days. This pictorial report will give you a glimpse of our

observations during this visit.

Wankaner - like any other non-descript town in India

The health care that we in the West take for granted is a luxury for many of the

working-class families in India. Quite often eye problems, even serious ones, go

untreated. In some cases this results in the ultimate calamity, blindness.

Among the third world countries India has one of the highest incidences of eye

problems, and among all the states in India Gujarat has arguably the highest occurrence

of eye diseases.

The N. R. Doshi Eye Hospital was bought by Dr Ramnik Mehta and his wife, Dr. Bhanu, a

dentist. Both are retired doctors originally from India but who lived and worked in

England. They are doing this charity work since 2002. Dr. Bhanu, at the ripe age of 70,

is attempting to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro to raise funds for the eye hospital and other

Devdaya charities.

There is a common thread among people devoting their time and money doing such

benevolent work - many of them had themselves suffered hardship in their childhood

and education, but later became successful in the West, and now are going back to their

roots and helping others in need.

Dr. Ramnik Mehta and Dr. Bhanu Mehta

In the case of Dr. Ramnik Mehta, his father died when he was young; he was brought up

by his mother, and despite having suffered hardship, educated himself somehow with a

medical degree in Mumbai.

Before this visit we had never heard of Devdaya, let alone the town of Wankaner.

In India, in the midst of its crowded streets, busy bazaars, and overflowing cities there

are many altruistic organizations. But these are hard to find unless you go looking for

them.

We found out about this motivating place through Pankaj and Naina Sodha, of

Birmingham England. They had visited the same place a year before and had brought

back positive feedback.

Naina Sodha (middle) and Pankaj Sodha (right)

* * * * * * *

It was a Saturday morning in late December – Christmas holidays for those of us living

in the West. But Christmas is hardly observed in this part of the world, and the

atmosphere here was more somber.

The hospital’s reception room was already bustling with activity. People were lining up to

register their issues; others were seated and patiently waiting their turn for an eye

checkup; yet others were simply accompanying their loved ones.

One might think, surely there would be government-run hospitals that are free for the

needy? Yes, there are - but these are usually only in large cities. The poor generally

would not be able to pay for travel and out-of-town expenses. Secondly the service

provided in these hospitals is sub-par. There is a lot of apathy.

So when the village folk hear about these free eye clinics, they are likely to grab the

opportunity.

How do people know there is a free eye clinic on a particular day? First, the event is

advertised in the local media in surrounding towns and villages. Newspaper ads are

placed promoting the event. Then of course there is word of mouth.

Generally these eye clinics are sponsored. We had undertaken to sponsor this particular

one. However, we were joined by the following supporters, who also contributed to its

success:

- Eappen, Gina - Toronto, Canada

- Manaktola, Varsha - Toronto, Canada

- Radia, Sanjay – Freemont, U.S.A.

- Radia, Vijya and Sneha - Toronto, Canada

- Vasani, Mradula - Toronto, Canada

I must say there was no solicitation of funds on our part; these folks simply donated

once they found out we were going.

During this eye clinic 56 patients got the benefit of free eye checkup and diagnosis. In

addition, five eye operations were done.

* * * * * * *

Throughout the two days there was plenty to see and absorb. Dhaval Karathia, the

general manger of the hospital showed us around during our entire stay and looked after

our every need.

Dhaval Karathia, General Manager of the hospital

To get the maximum value out of this charity organization, and to reach out to the

widest populace, Devdaya has partnered with other NGO’s across Gujarat, forming a

network of hospitals that cooperate to provide efficient eye care. For example, if a

person comes from far away, he may be referred to another clinic within the network

that is closer to his village, saving both time and money.

A natural question to ask is, why limit all this good work to Gujarat? Eye problems do

not have state boundaries, and the underprivileged are the same everywhere. So why

not reach out to other states across India? I suppose the answer may lie in language

barriers, legal issues and other logistical problems.

Hitesh Parmar, X - ray technician in Devdaya Diagnostic Centre

Although the hospital name suggests this is an eye hospital it has other facilities too. We

saw not only dental equipment, but also dental work being performed on a patient.

We often hear about botched operations in India whereby inexperienced ‘doctors’ have

used unhygienic or even inappropriate methods, resulting in tragic consequences. But

not at this place - they have all the equipment, and the medical staff is fully trained.

The hospital has a staff of 17 people. In 2004 they renovated the hospital to bring in

modern equipment. Before there was only one operating theatre, now there are three,

all containing the latest medical tools.

We saw an operation being done when we were there. We could not go in, so the picture

below was taken through a glass window.

State-of-the-art operating theatre

Dr. Tapas Raval, Eye Surgeon in N. R. Doshi Eye Hospital. He did five cataract operations on this

day

Vishal Jani, Optometrist in N. R. Doshi Eye Hospital

Vedant Nath, Optometrist in N. R. Doshi Eye Hospital

Seeing all the eye care being provided made me wonder, not for the first time: What is

better? Building temples or spending money on good causes such as this one?

It’s not an easy answer. Temples provide a spiritual outlet, especially to the under-

privileged who may not have much else going for them. So building them is fine – but

only to an extent. When you have enough of them, money spent on free eye care

trumps anytime.

For example, at this hospital, in the past, a boy as young as six months had cataract

operation done, changing his young life for the better.

Throughout the day we noticed the hospital was full of people - parents and family

members waited patiently in lounges while their loved ones were being examined or

operated on.

In the background is Assistant Manager of the hospital, Jitesh Chauhan

Some of the donors’ plaques on display

In addition to the hospital Devdaya Charitable Trust owns and operates about ten vans,

fully equipped with medical instruments and supplies.

These mobile eye clinics go from school to school in remote villages all over Gujarat to

check the eyes of students.

Nayna on the far left – always happy to visit such places

We were shown within the hospital building a very modern conference center, complete

with video conferencing equipment.

This serves multiple purposes: teaching and lecturing; consulting when complex

operations are being done; and also sharing of medical knowledge among specialists.

Conference centre inside the hospital

A stark reminder that eye problems among the poor can be disastrous

The hospital goes the extra mile. If patients have come from afar and if an overnight

stay is warranted after an operation, then they are even provided boarding and lodging

for the night.

There are also doctors’ quarters for out-of-town specialists who come during eye clinics.

This young girl has undergone an eye operation

No they are not playing hide-and-seek. This is serious stuff. Their pupils have been dilated prior

to eye examination

The hospital has a cafeteria. Patients and their families are provided with an afternoon

meal.

Meal being served in the dining hall

This child is here to correct the squint in the right eye

Quite often squint problems are ignored by parents because the condition is not life-

threatening – but what happens when the child, especially a girl, comes to

marriageable age?

That’s the time parents decide to do something about it. Many are poor, and cannot

afford the expenses. During such times NGO hospitals like this one are a blessing.

Dr. Sonal Amin, Eye Surgeon and Squint Specialist, seen here examining a squint patient

Of course the hospital cannot afford to keep on staff all sorts of eye specialists – so, on

the day of the clinic arrangements are made to get an expert from large cities such as

Ahmadabad, and even Mumbai.

These specialists charge a nominal rate to the hospital, but not to the patients. Dr. Sonal

above is one of them – on the day of our visit, she had come from Anand to diagnose

and operate on squint in eyes.

* * * * * * *

Donations to the hospital come from various sources. Apart from individual donors, the

hospital receives large sums from organizations.

Among these larger donors are Lions and Rotary clubs. These are the unsung heroes of

the disadvantaged. Whether it is a school for the poor, an orphanage or an NGO

hospital, you can be sure they will contribute. They have made their mark by giving

large sums to build infrastructure such as classrooms, kitchens, and other buildings that

require a big capital expenditure.

And the good work of Lions and Rotary is not limited to India; go to any third world

country and you are likely to see their contribution to society.

So next time there is a charity event organized by these clubs, remember, your money

will be well-spent!

-

Lions Club donations at work - the funds came all the way from the U.K.

People find all kinds of reasons to give - here someone has donated to celebrate their grand-

child’s birthday!

* * * * * * *

For the average traveler there is not much to see or do in Wankaner - unless, of course

you are interested in seeing temples. These are found everywhere, even in the remotest

corners of India.

Some of the older temples are perched on top of hills. This could have something to do

with India’s sad history of invaders pillaging and looting – hill-tops were meant to thwart

invaders.

This one is right in Wankaner:

There are about 300 steps to the top, roughly a quarter of the steps of Toronto’s CN

tower.

It’s always fun to climb these hills – when you reach the summit you get a sense of

accomplishment; and you have also lost a few calories along the way!

And often the view from the top is breath-taking!

Some Maharaja’s palace: a serene view on the outskirts of Wankaner

Another small but beautiful temple, a couple of kilometers outside Wankaner

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Compiled by Dinesh Dattani. Dinesh resides in Toronto, Canada. His interests include

writing, blogging and promoting charitable causes.

His previous blogs are on a visit to a polio school in Rajasthan; to Nirvana School for the

poor near Pondicherry; and to an AIM for Seva hostel in Amreli.