LONDON: The Tej Kohli & Ruit Foundation has reached an important milestone after curing 25,201 people of untreated cataract blindness in time for Christmas 2022. The London and Kathmandu based NGO is the brainchild of an ophthalmologist dr Sanduk Ruit and philanthropist Tej Kohli. To find those in need, the NGO examined 179,022 patients in 91 aid camps in Nepal, Bhutan and Ghana.
The Tej Kohli & Ruit Foundation seeks to combat extreme poverty in the developing world by conducting large-scale interventions to cure untreated cataract blindness. The socio-economic return on the $50-$100 that the NGO spends to surgically cure a typical blind patient is over 1,500% in the first postoperative year. All services are provided free of charge at the point of use.
Among the patients cured of blindness in 2022 was Murathi Parsi, who could not afford surgery and lived her life in total darkness. Shri Mani Rai, who couldn’t afford the twelve-hour drive to the nearest eye clinic. Anita, who was left by her husband because she had lost her eyesight. And a family whose three children had no prospects because they were all blind.
A highlight for the Tej Kohli & Ruit Foundation in 2022 was the start of a partnership with the Bhutanese Ministry of Health to eradicate our untreated cataract blindness from the Kingdom of Bhutan over the next five years under the royal patronage of the Bhutanese Royal Family. The NGO also launched its new global influencer panel with a combined following of 23.6 million.
In 2023, the Tej Kohli & Ruit Foundation plans to expand and accelerate its mission by healing an additional 56,500 people with untreated cataract blindness in countries like Indonesia, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Bangladesh and Tanzania; to put NGOs on track towards their goal of healing at least 300,000 people in the developing world by 2030.
Tej KohliCo-founder of the Tej Kohli & Ruit Foundation, said:
“The large-scale cure of untreated blindness in the developing world is one of the most targeted and efficient ways to end extreme poverty and achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals. We are off to a good start and are fully committed to achieving our 2030 targets.”
The Tej Kohli & Ruit Foundation is a restricted fund operated under the auspices of Prism The Gift Fund, registered UK charity number 1099682. For more information on the Tej Kohli & Ruit Foundation please visit:
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