<p>The Shri Guru Mahipatiraj Eye Bank Trust and Research Foundation in Hubballi is known for its humane service of giving the gift of sight. Pavan Kumar H learns more about its endeavours.<br /><br />For 56-year-old Savithri, mother of two and a resident of Yelgur in Vijayapura district, there are two gods. One, the village deity Yelgureshwara. The other, M M Joshi, well-known ophthalmologist from Hubballi. While she believes Lord Hanuman gave her life, it was Joshi who showed her how beautiful the world is, by operating her defunct eye 28 years ago at a free eye check-up camp in Vijayapura. In gratitude, she has placed photos of both her gods in her semi-pukka house and offers poojas to both.<br /><br />Savithri is just one among lakhs of people who revere Dr Mahipathi Madhwacharya Joshi, lovingly called ‘Nayanabrahma’, for his humane service. Despite a cult of followers, the octogenarian doctor says he is just repaying the love he received from the society over the years. “For a doctor, there is no greater happiness or reward than seeing his patient returning home happy and independent. That’s worth crores of rupees for me. Such satisfaction is found only in charitable work,” muses Dr M M Joshi.<br /><br />Progress thus far<br />So far, Dr M M Joshi, under his Shri Guru Mahipatiraj Eye Bank Trust and Research Foundation, has helped nearly 12.5 lakh patients. The Trust has operated more than 1.51 lakh patients using high-tech facilities at 674 health camps for free. There is hardly any taluk in the entire North and Central Karnataka, where he might not have held a free eye check-up camp. </p>.<p><br />It was in 1979, when a young M M Joshi was ‘forced’ to start his Trust to counter another doctor, who with his primitive steps, did more harm than cure. “The best way to stop mediocrity was to provide better service to poor free of cost,” recalls Dr M M Joshi. There was no looking back after this. “Modern equipments were not available then (1967). Use of gloves and cotton was nothing short of sophistication. Use of modern technology and equipment made me popular, as success rate of operations increased,” he said. <br /><br />Today, in spite of attending to a volume of 600 outpatients and 70 to 75 operations everyday at the base hospital, his charitable trust caters to nearly 20-25 operations free of cost at an exclusive free hospital. “The same team of doctors, who work at M M Joshi Eye Hospital attend to patients at the Trust hospital and each patient is given the same kind of treatment provided at the paid hospital,” says Dr Shrinivas M Joshi, Dr M M Joshi’s son. The Trust also provides lodging, boarding, and transportation charges of the patient and one attendant. <br /><br />“Dr M M Joshi wishes to provide at least 50 free operations at the Trust every day. But there is a financial constraint as of now. We are sure that one day we shall reach that figure,” says Shrinivas, banking on his team of 44 dedicated doctors. “Our motto is no person seeking help should return empty handed for want of funds. We have made sure everyone who has visited us has gone back happy and relieved of hardship,” Shrinivas adds.<br /><br />While there are several organisations holding eye camps for adults, there are hardly any for children. The reason being that paediatric eye care is costly and requires greater mastery. However, the Trust has so far screened nearly three lakh kids and operated on more than 2,000 children, including complicated cases. For want of funds, nearly 1,200 more kids are waiting to get their vision right. The State government’s Sarva <br />Shiksha Abhiyan has also partnered the project. <br /><br />“As many as 80 per cent of eye problems can be solved if the problem is attended to at an early age. Human eyes develop between 0-10 years of age. If proper treatment is provided during this age, we can help many children,” says Mahesh Dongre, Trust hospital’s Public Relation Officer. <br /><br />As a step in addressing the issue, the Trust has trained nearly 3,000 anganwadi teachers about preliminary tests to be conducted to make sure a child studying in the school has proper eye sight. They have provided vision testing charts to all North Karnataka and Uttar Kannada schools, with the help of the RV Deshpande Foundation. <br /><br />Eye donation<br />Another project dear to the founders is eye donation. The programme started in 1975, after Maujibhai Thacker, a Gujarati businessman settled in Hubballi, decided to donate his eyes. Two persons benefited from that transplantation. Since then, hundreds of people have benefited from the Trust’s eye donation programme. The Trust also holds the distinction of being the first centre in the State to get Bureau of Indian Standards’ ISO 9001:2008 Certification.<br /><br />Truly, the Trust is bringing light into many peoples’ lives, while collecting feathers in its cap as well.</p>
<p>The Shri Guru Mahipatiraj Eye Bank Trust and Research Foundation in Hubballi is known for its humane service of giving the gift of sight. Pavan Kumar H learns more about its endeavours.<br /><br />For 56-year-old Savithri, mother of two and a resident of Yelgur in Vijayapura district, there are two gods. One, the village deity Yelgureshwara. The other, M M Joshi, well-known ophthalmologist from Hubballi. While she believes Lord Hanuman gave her life, it was Joshi who showed her how beautiful the world is, by operating her defunct eye 28 years ago at a free eye check-up camp in Vijayapura. In gratitude, she has placed photos of both her gods in her semi-pukka house and offers poojas to both.<br /><br />Savithri is just one among lakhs of people who revere Dr Mahipathi Madhwacharya Joshi, lovingly called ‘Nayanabrahma’, for his humane service. Despite a cult of followers, the octogenarian doctor says he is just repaying the love he received from the society over the years. “For a doctor, there is no greater happiness or reward than seeing his patient returning home happy and independent. That’s worth crores of rupees for me. Such satisfaction is found only in charitable work,” muses Dr M M Joshi.<br /><br />Progress thus far<br />So far, Dr M M Joshi, under his Shri Guru Mahipatiraj Eye Bank Trust and Research Foundation, has helped nearly 12.5 lakh patients. The Trust has operated more than 1.51 lakh patients using high-tech facilities at 674 health camps for free. There is hardly any taluk in the entire North and Central Karnataka, where he might not have held a free eye check-up camp. </p>.<p><br />It was in 1979, when a young M M Joshi was ‘forced’ to start his Trust to counter another doctor, who with his primitive steps, did more harm than cure. “The best way to stop mediocrity was to provide better service to poor free of cost,” recalls Dr M M Joshi. There was no looking back after this. “Modern equipments were not available then (1967). Use of gloves and cotton was nothing short of sophistication. Use of modern technology and equipment made me popular, as success rate of operations increased,” he said. <br /><br />Today, in spite of attending to a volume of 600 outpatients and 70 to 75 operations everyday at the base hospital, his charitable trust caters to nearly 20-25 operations free of cost at an exclusive free hospital. “The same team of doctors, who work at M M Joshi Eye Hospital attend to patients at the Trust hospital and each patient is given the same kind of treatment provided at the paid hospital,” says Dr Shrinivas M Joshi, Dr M M Joshi’s son. The Trust also provides lodging, boarding, and transportation charges of the patient and one attendant. <br /><br />“Dr M M Joshi wishes to provide at least 50 free operations at the Trust every day. But there is a financial constraint as of now. We are sure that one day we shall reach that figure,” says Shrinivas, banking on his team of 44 dedicated doctors. “Our motto is no person seeking help should return empty handed for want of funds. We have made sure everyone who has visited us has gone back happy and relieved of hardship,” Shrinivas adds.<br /><br />While there are several organisations holding eye camps for adults, there are hardly any for children. The reason being that paediatric eye care is costly and requires greater mastery. However, the Trust has so far screened nearly three lakh kids and operated on more than 2,000 children, including complicated cases. For want of funds, nearly 1,200 more kids are waiting to get their vision right. The State government’s Sarva <br />Shiksha Abhiyan has also partnered the project. <br /><br />“As many as 80 per cent of eye problems can be solved if the problem is attended to at an early age. Human eyes develop between 0-10 years of age. If proper treatment is provided during this age, we can help many children,” says Mahesh Dongre, Trust hospital’s Public Relation Officer. <br /><br />As a step in addressing the issue, the Trust has trained nearly 3,000 anganwadi teachers about preliminary tests to be conducted to make sure a child studying in the school has proper eye sight. They have provided vision testing charts to all North Karnataka and Uttar Kannada schools, with the help of the RV Deshpande Foundation. <br /><br />Eye donation<br />Another project dear to the founders is eye donation. The programme started in 1975, after Maujibhai Thacker, a Gujarati businessman settled in Hubballi, decided to donate his eyes. Two persons benefited from that transplantation. Since then, hundreds of people have benefited from the Trust’s eye donation programme. The Trust also holds the distinction of being the first centre in the State to get Bureau of Indian Standards’ ISO 9001:2008 Certification.<br /><br />Truly, the Trust is bringing light into many peoples’ lives, while collecting feathers in its cap as well.</p>
