Donor Highlight:
Kalpita Chakote
Seva supporter and high school student Kalpita Chakote is an avid dancer in Bharatanatyam and Bollywood dance.
Kalpita began dancing when she was just six years old. Though, for years, she danced nearly blind. “For many years, before I had contacts, I danced without my glasses. I couldn't see anything on stage,“ says Kalpita. “I was looking at complete darkness. I just had to trust that someone would catch me if I were too close to the edge of the stage.”
Despite her eye condition, Kalpita has earned numerous dance awards and performed at the United Nations, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and other renowned locations.
Due to an irregularity in the curvature of her eyes, Kalpita requires costly glasses and contact lenses. “I have a severe astigmatism, which used to increase at a dangerous rate, but thankfully, my parents are able to afford to pay for the expensive eye care,” explains Kalpita “However, there are others similar to me who are not as fortunate, and I wanted to help them. Not being able to see is an aspect of some people's daily lives. They don't have any ophthalmologists or eye care. So when I heard about and researched Seva Foundation, whose mission is to restore eyesight and prevent blindness, I wanted to help because I knew what they faced, and knew it was the organization I wanted to help.”
Kalpita's firsthand experience with visual impairment motivated her to organize a dance performance in her town of Port Washington, New York. Her goal was to raise $5,000 to support Seva and provide eye care to people in need. Thanks to the incredible generosity of her community, Kalpita's event exceeded her original fundraising goal and raised a total of $7,000!
Kalpita encourages others to also organize fundraisers to support Seva. “We don't realize how important vision is because we have the opportunities to correct it,” says Kalpita “But for some, they live in locations where there is no eye care available. Seva makes it a point to reach isolated areas. I just want to leave people with this thought; imagine when you take out a camera, and you try to focus it on your subject of interest, but it just won't focus, and all you are left with is this kaleidoscope of colors. That image is similar to the horrible vision of people who can't afford or don't have the means to fix their vision problems. So on that note, I hope you all understand this precious gift of sight and might also consider organizing a fundraiser for the Seva Foundation.”
From all of us here at Seva, thank you for your support Kalpita!
If you are interested in organizing your own fundraising campaign for Seva, we'd love to hear from you!
Above: Kalpita Chakote.
“I have a severe astigmatism, which used to increase at a dangerous rate, but thankfully, my parents are able to afford to pay for the expensive eye care. However, there are others similar to me who are not as fortunate, and I wanted to help them. Not being able to see is an aspect of some people's daily lives. They don't have any ophthalmologists or eye care. So when I heard about and researched Seva Foundation, whose mission is to restore eyesight and prevent blindness, I wanted to help because I knew what they faced, and knew it was the organization I wanted to help.”
— Kalpita Chakote.
