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Seva Wins Kristof's Holiday Impact Grand Prize

1.1 billion people live with unaddressed vision impairment.

Yet, 90% of all vision loss is preventable or treatable.

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Seva’s vision is a world free of avoidable blindness.

Clear sight unlocks independence.

It’s the most cost-effective intervention to reduce poverty. That means an equal shot at life for millions.

For just $50, you can provide sight-restoring cataract surgery to someone in need and transform their life forever.

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Since 2009, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and former New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof has written an annual “holiday gift guide” column to bridge a philanthropic gap: readers who wanted to help but didn’t know how, and heroic individuals and organizations who desperately needed resources but were off donors’ radar. The column has helped raise the profiles of organizations that work on the very issues he covers in his journalism—health, education, human rights and women’s rights, both domestically and abroad.

“It feels miraculous to watch people regain their sight, but it's a miracle that we can all make happen. Seva Foundation, the Grand Prize Winner of this year’s Holiday Impact Prize, is transforming people’s lives for as little as $50 per cataract surgery. Seva works in more than 20 countries abroad and in Native American communities in the United States, and nothing is more joyous than seeing the impact of its work on people who had thought they would never see again.”

— Nicholas Kristof

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50 million people have received critical access to surgeries, eyeglasses, medicine, and treatment in over 20 countries since 1978.

You can help children go back to school, adults go back to work, and communities thrive. Giving to Seva creates an immediate and powerful ripple effect. When more people can see and lead healthy, productive lives, entire communities are transformed.

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$50 can restore sight to 12 people a year.

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Building Sustainable Eye Care Systems

Seva has a proven solution rooted in science, data, and compassion to tackle the health crisis of avoidable blindness head-on. We co-create highly effective, sustainable eye care systems with local partners around the world so that people today and generations to come tomorrow – all have the much needed access to eye care. Seva's four drivers for success are local vision centers, providing pediatric care, training eye care professionals, and investing in innovative technology.

Four sisters who can now see the world.

At a Seva eye camp they all received cataract surgery and they felt hope for the first time in their lives.

Three-year-old Milka gets a shiny new pair of pink glasses.

She was diagnosed with severe nearsightedness and received a pair of pretty pink eyeglasses that correct her vision.

Creating generational impact: A family's sight restored.

The change to their lives was miraculous. Parbati, Maya, and Ganga can now live their lives to their full potential.

SUNGA AND HIS DAUGHTERS – Himalaya

In a remote area of Himalaya a man named Sunga had 4 daughters. All of them were blind from cataracts.

The single father faced a heartbreaking decision; he could only afford to bring 3 of the girls to the Seva eye camp for cataract removal. The youngest daughter insisted that her older sisters get treatment, but once left home alone, she broke down and wept.

Upon learning that there was another blind daughter, a Seva staff member hired a motorcycle to travel the 75km to find her and bring her to the camp.

At the Seva eye camp all 4 sisters received cataract surgery. Nothing could take the smiles off their faces of the hope they felt for the first time in their lives.

MILKA – Burundi

Milka has a bright future ahead of her.

Three-year-old Milka lives in a village in the small, war-torn country of Burundi just south of Rwanda. When Milka started walking at age 1, she didn't progress the way most children do and kept bumping into things.

An outreach worker told Milka's mother about a Seva-supported eye clinic in Bujumbura, Burundi's largest city. Her mother had never traveled to the city, but she put Milka in her fanciest dress and made the journey. At the eye clinic, Milka was seen by Dr. Levi Kandeke, Burundi's sole pediatric ophthalmologist who relies on NGOs like Seva to provide funding so he can take care of the many children with vision problems but whose families cannot afford eye care.

Thanks to the generosity of donors like you, Milka was diagnosed with severe nearsightedness and received a pair of pretty pink eyeglasses that correct her vision. Milka will be able to attend Kindergarten this fall and make the most of her education with clear vision.

PARBATI, MAYA, AND GANGA – Nepal

All had been blind and now all could see.

Parbati stared at the concrete ceiling. She tried to stay calm and still. A doctor gently touched her shoulder and told her everything would be okay. And then, in just 15 minutes, it was over. Parbati, once blind, had received the life-changing cataract surgery that restored her sight.

The next morning, Parbati stood under the soaring pine trees of a Nepali mountainside. She was with Maya, her elderly mother-in-law, and Ganga, her 23-year-old daughter. All three women had been blind. Now they could all see.

For so many years, these three women from three generations of the same family suffered the burden of blindness.

The change to their lives was miraculous. Parbati, Maya, and Ganga can now live their lives to their full potential.

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Your Compassion Transforms Lives

With clear vision, those you have helped will now be able to return to work and school and live productive lives that are free from blindness.

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Seva Foundation is a nonprofit 501(c)3 charitable organization. All contributions are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.

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