Anil Kumble, Pankaj Advani, & 500 others walk to raise funds for 1,000 free cataract operations

Bangalore, India (SANEPR.com) March 11, 2009 -- United Way of Bengaluru (UWB) today organized a Walkathon to raise funds for cataract operations for the needy. Eminent sports personalities Anil Kumble, Pankaj Advani, Ashish Ballal, Ashwini Nacchappa, and Charu Sharma - along with about 500 other enthusiasts - walked around the city’s Cubbon Park at 7.15 am this morning to raise awareness for the cause.

UWB had organized the walk to collect funds to conduct 1,000 cataract operations free of cost for weaker sections of society, in rural areas surrounding Bangalore. Nearly 6,000 people of all age-groups – from over 55 companies – have spontaneously contributed to the cause. The walk was an expression of solidarity with those suffering from “needless blindness” merely due to a lack of financial means.

Charu Sharma, member on the Board of UWB, observed, “Supporting a worthy cause comes naturally to the people of Bangalore. The challenge lies in winning and retaining the trust of the people, and channelizing that natural concern into a force to raise community standards through voluntary participation. With its core strength of integrity and transparency, UWB is demonstrably an agent of social upliftment.”



Vivek Nagarkatti, Chairman, UWB said, “It is our mission to help build community capacity for a better quality of life in and around Bangalore, through voluntary giving and action. The energetic participation of so many volunteers and their response to such a noble cause is encouraging. It gives us hope and encouragement to implement our programs and plans for the future.”



Says Ashwini Kumar, Executive Director of UWB, “The Walkathon was successful beyond our expectations. We are happy that it has helped raise funds to help 1,000 needy people. These are people who will get their vision again, through a simple act of ours. Bangaloreans have demonstrated that we care.”



The cataract operations will be performed through the Sankara Eye Hospital. Many volunteers of Sankara Hospital themselves walked for the cause.



There are 161 million people in the world who are visually impaired. Of this, 70% are needlessly blind because they just can not afford to get care. 25% of the world’s blind population is in India. 1.4 million children below the age of 15 are blind. Females are at a higher risk of being visually impaired than males. 75% of what a child learns during the early years of life is through vision. 85% men and 58% women can return to work after a simple cataract surgery. Children can be prevented from becoming “needlessly” blind. An adult can become a breadwinner again. An elderly person can become independent, and regain his sense of dignity.



About United Way

United Way is a global network of locally governed not-for-profit member organizations in 47 countries and territories whose members work to create long-term solutions to local human needs. These members convene community leaders who identify and prioritise local needs, generate and distribute resources for mission-centered work, help improve the effectiveness of the non profit sector, and enhance service delivery. This work happens primarily at the local level, where community needs and opportunities are best understood by local volunteer leaders. Through its commitment to and demonstration of effectiveness, transparency and accountability, United Ways are able to raise US $5 billion dollars worldwide which are applied to create greater local community impact.



About United Way chapters in India, and United Way of Bengaluru (UWB)

The oldest United Way chapter in India was established in Baroda in 1986, followed by Mumbai in 2002. Three new chapters were added in 2008, in Bangalore, Delhi, and Hubli-Dharwad.



United Way of Bengaluru was set up on 15th July 2008. It has a diverse and distinguished Board, consisting of Vivek Nagarkatti (Chairman), President and Managing Director of HP Global e-Business Operations Pvt. Ltd., Dr. Tansen Chaudhari (Vice Chairman), India Contact of GE Foundation and General Manager at GE Consumer and Industrial, Balachandran Warrier (Treasurer), CEO of Manipal Foundation, Suneeth Katarki (Secretary), Founding Partner of Indus G&D Law, Charu Sharma, Sports Commentator, Jessy Jacob, Founding Director of JJA Architects Pvt Ltd, Nilanjan Bhattacharya, Head Corporate Coverage Group, Global Markets - South India for Deutsche Bank, Nishith Acharya, Executive Director of The Deshpande Foundation, Sabu Thomas, Director – HR at Qwest Telecom Software Services Pvt. Ltd., Suresh Shanmugham, MD of SVB India Advisors Pvt Ltd. and Suzanne Singh, Trustee and Member of the Board of Akshara Foundation. The set-up costs of United Way of Bengaluru have been seed funded by The Deshpande Foundation.



About Sankara Eye Care Institutions

With 8 state-of-the art eye hospitals in Coimbatore, Guntur, Krishnankovil, Bangalore, Shimoga, Anand, Pammal and Silvassa, Sankara Eye Care Institutions deliver quality eye care through the “Gift of Vision” rural outreach eye care programme. So far the programme has conducted 7,594 free weekly eye screening camps, and performed 525,000 free eye surgeries.