Letter from the Executive Director
March is just around the corner, which means it’s time to once again celebrate International Women’s Day. Gender equity has been one of Seva’s top priorities since our founding. Women were active participants in forming the vision for the organization, and we continue to play a major role in Seva’s leadership today.
Since our founding four decades ago, Seva and others working to eliminate avoidable blindness around the world have made significant inroads in the fight to ensure that women have the same access to eye care as their male counterparts.
It used to be that two-thirds of people suffering with compromised vision around the world were women, but these women were far less likely to have access to eye care. Today, 55 percent of people living with avoidable blindness and vision impairment are women and girls. We have not reached our goal of 100% equitable access to eye care, but it’s encouraging to see that so much progress has been made in this effort in recent years.
Another constant in Seva’s rich history is our ongoing relationship with wonderful musicians who share their time and talent to support our programs. Just last month, luminaries including Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, Joan Osborne, Mickey Hart and our own Wavy Gravy came together to celebrate 40 years of selfless service at a concert in Oakland. Read on to learn more about that evening and see some fabulous picture of the show.
Thanks to partners around the world – from eye hospitals to donors like you – we are able to do this important work and transform the lives of every patient and family member our programs touch.
