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Locally based team brings vision to India

Rakesh Agarwal visits with women who are preparing to have cataract surgery.

For the third year in a row, Vision Express, a Western North Carolina-based nonprofit, and Rug & Home are teaming up to host health camps in rural villages near Varanasi, India.


A team of 12 volunteers, including an ophthalmologist and several nurses, from the Carolinas, will collaborate with 25 Indian medical professionals and thirty volunteers from the surrounding region in India.
Serving more than 3,500 patients seen over the course of three days — 70-90 percent of whom have never before seen a doctor — the health camp will include practitioners from a multitude of specialties, ranging from general practitioners to gynecologists, cardiac specialists, dentists, ophthalmologists, and pediatricians. The volunteers from the Carolinas will be assisting, observing and collecting data on the patients that are seen by the physicians. The ultimate goal is the cross-culture exchange of knowledge and ideas for the betterment future health camps.
The focus of the camps will be on women's health issues and on screening for cataracts. Treatable cataract blindness is one of the most prevalent problems faced by women, young and old, in the underprivileged population in this region of India. Vision Express was established with the express purpose of eradicating cataract blindness for this group of females.
"These health camps serve as a small step in the cross-cultural exchange between the two biggest democracies in the world," said Rakesh Agarwal, CEO of Rug & Home and founder of Vision Express. "My hope is to create long-lasting relationships and a bridge amongst the U.S. and Indian physicians and volunteers."
As a part of the cultural experience, the U.S. team tours the Taj Mahal in Agra, the forts and palaces in Jaipur, and the major sites in New Delhi. Other than air travel, all expenses are paid by the Agarwal family.