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Dr. V: A savior of sight for millions of people.
Because of cataracts, millions of people live in darkness or with severely limited vision.
In India Dr. V (Dr. Govindappa Venkataswamy), a retired eye surgeon, believed he and others could restore the vision of poor people throughout the world.
So, in 1976 he opened an 11-bed clinic named the Aravind Eye Care System, with an unusual business plan, one that would work wonders.
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The plan was to build a world class eye clinic, without charity, with profits from restoring the sight of people who could pay for their care.
Those profits would then pay for sight restoration for the poor and for state-of-the-art equipment to stay at the forefront of eye care.
To the surprise of many, it worked and Aravind became a huge success.
But then a complication arose.
Big pharmaceutical companies kept raising prices for replacement lenses and other eye care products, escalating Aravind’s costs.
So in response, in 1992 Aravind began manufacturing replacement lenses, and eventually over 200 medical products, which they now market all over the world.
These medical products are very profitable and give Aravind even more money to help the poor.
Today, Aravind visits poor people in their villages, transports them to one of 12 Aravind clinics for surgery, provides hospital care while they recover, and then transports them home.
5-million people have had their sight restored, many at no charge.
Aravind also teaches its medical and business skills to eye surgeons from across the world, so millions more poor people can have their sight restored.
In 1976, when Dr. V introduced his business plan it seemed impossible, but the impossible is now reality on a grand scale.
Editor's Note:
There is much more to this remarkable story. To see Aravind in action http://www.karmatube.org/videos.php?id=7831 or visit their website https://www.aravind.org/ Dr. V passed away in 2006.
In the next KazanToday:
A man who converted a garbage dump into a lush walking trail.
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