Siloam's foundational sight saving ministry among the blind and the victims of leprosy in South India - and the need to maintain our support.

"Only in statistics do people go blind by the millions - each person goes blind by himself" - John Wilson, World Health Organisation.

Historically, the two greatest fears that haunted mankind were blindness and leprosy. Although in the developed world cancer could claim that ignominious title, in India where poor people are mostly unaffected by the dubious food additives we include in our western diet, the fear of blindness and contracting leprosy still fills much of the population with horror.

Thankfully, both these conditions can be arrested and treated although it is not possible to replace loss fingers and toes and other parts of the body which are slowly eaten away by the leprous bacilli known by the medical name as Hansen's disease. Cataracts on the other hand are relatively easy to treat but it is estimated that more than 6 million folk in India still suffer with this visual misery. Our German founder Dr Karl Becker was so moved when he first visited India back in the 1970s that he felt he had to do something to relieve the poor of these two terrible afflictions. So, with the help of a concerned Christian opthalmologist Dr Manuel, he set out to establish an organisation which provided the financial needs of doctors in India who could address these two medical problems.

Although much has changed over the years and Dr Karl Becker retired years ago, the work continues and our eye ministry focuses mainly on the work of the Siloam Thomas Eye Hospital which was established by Mrs Sarojini Thomas who originally worked as an assistant to Dr Manuel. Dr Sarojini also spent many years in the 60s being trained in the UK and working in hospitals in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne and in the London area before returning back to Coimbatore in South India to set up the Siloam Thomas Eye Hospital. She recruited a team of volunteers and surrounded herself with a small dedicated team of Christian medical workers who believe like her, that the poorest of the poor should have the benefit of the most up-to-date medical sight saving equipment available today.

Sadly, over the years interest in the west in providing affordable medical eye care in India has somewhat declined. Folk in the UK just don't seem to be so interested as they once were in helping the blind regain their precious eyesight. Probably equally valid medical or humanitarian needs have captured their attention?

But, we believe our eye ministry should continue and Dr Thomas' son Devdutt carries on the ministry and vision of his mother even though he could get a very well paid post in Europe, USA or in the UK as a top eye surgeon.

Usually once a year in January I visit this eye hospital to inspect the latest techniques they are able to perform on the eyes of the blind. I also go to the rural outstations where the team select folk for cataract surgery as well as glaucoma treatment, a silent visual affliction of which many are unaware of its presence and danger.

Over the 27 years of its existence, this eye hospital and its dedicated medical staff have literally saved the eyesight of thousands of folk who would have been unable to receive any kind of medical treatment due to their inability to pay for what we take for granted here in the UK. I just wish I could take you with me to Coimbatore next January* so you could see just how much joy this simple life changing operation can bring to a poor village worker who barely survives on meagre daily wages, if they are fortunate enough to find work.

Just look at the joy on the faces of the folk on the back page of this brochure, it will give you a small insight into a world where people go blind simply because they don't have the money for a simple eye operation.

The cost of an operation can be as little as £50.00 per patient and we are grateful for those who have sent in donations in the past as a result and as a 'thank you' for a successful cataract procedure they have undergone themselves.

Our monthly budget for this hospital is £1,000.00 per month but sadly over the last year, we have not been able to maintain that budget in full because the support for this ministry has dwindled. As a result the Siloam Eye Hospital has not been able to have the funds it has needed to save the sight of many more folk it could have done. Please help me reverse this trend and please stand with me to be able to guarantee a budget of at least £1,000.00 per month so that this Christian medical sight saving ministry can continue into the foreseeable future. Perhaps you could even set aside a little each month by setting up a Bank Mandate Standing Order**, this will enable me to advise Dr Thomas and say for certain, that I can guarantee that there will be a number of caring friends dedicated to supporting this ministry over the next 12 months. When gifts of £20.00 and £5.00 per month are added together, we can make a significant difference to restore eyesight for those least able to afford medical treatment in South India.

Just look again at the photos and pray before you complete your response form and either send us a one-off gift or request a Bank Standing Order Mandate form so that you may give regularly to this sight saving ministry.

Richard Norton

Director-Siloam UK

Letter from John Eld, Trustee

Dear friends
Siloam has never been afraid to try a new activity where we see a need that our supporters, new and existing, may wish to help satisfy. However, the ministry upon which we were founded is still ongoing and because I believe it still serves a vital need, and should not therefore be 'lost' amidst all the other good work in which Siloam is now involved, I am writing to commend this ministry to you again.

I refer of course to the eye ministry in India, and especially to the work of the Siloam Thomas Eye Hospital in Coimbatore. As many regular readers of our newsletters over the years will know, I have all but lost my sight and regained it, thanks to the grace of God and the skills He has given to our eye surgeons. So, I know at first hand the value of precious eyesight and the worth of those people and the medical facilities to save it.

It was for this reason that Richard Norton asked me to accompany him on a visit to India in November 2005. As well as visiting most of the other Siloam projects that are conducted in South India, I was particularly anxious to see the eye hospital in Coimbatore and its associated sight saving work.

India is billed as one of the fastest growing economies in the world, so many people will think that the need for help has gone away. Not so - as with many other rapid rises to economic 'success', it is only relatively few who actually benefit, certainly in the short term. The gap between the 'haves' and 'have-nots' grows, as I saw for myself, and as you yourselves may have seen more recently on the television when some young people who like to buy cheap clothes in the UK, went to see for themselves where and how they were made.

A number of things struck me about the work of Dr Thomas and her staff during our visit to the hospital. First of all, their professionalism and the regard for which they are held by other hospitals in the area (there were 15 student nurses visiting for theory training when we arrived).

Then there was their compassion for the poor. Thanks to the support of concerned people like you, they currently treat a larger number of patients free of charge than they do those who pay for their treatment. But it goes much further than just giving free treatment. This is not a second-class service as the Siloam Thomas family who run the hospital believe that we are all equal before God, so why should those who are the poorest of the poor be given lesser valued treatment with sub-standard equipment?

I saw a vast range of equipment - both up-to-date diagnostic and surgical items and also some that they had developed themselves to help those with poor eyesight see better. For instance, we met one lady with a degenerative sight problem, for whom they'd developed a portable telescope - This enabled her to go on working for longer (vital when you are on subsistence wages or even less). This means that this lady need not be a financial burden to her family if she is able to work a little.

We also went out with the team to the Vinnappallay Rehabilitation Centre for leprosy sufferers. Here Dr Thomas and the staff carried out general sight examinations as well as post operative care and they also selected new patients who were in need of eye surgery. The latter were later brought back to the hospital where they can benefit from the full range of sight saving equipment available.

So, you will see that there is still a great need among those who cannot afford healthcare, and particularly those ostracised from society, or those exposed to high risk of injury in factories that produce our cheap goods with non-existent health and safety procedures. This vital need is still being met every week by the Siloam Thomas Eye Hospital, but the work can only go on if we in the UK are prepared to stand with them and help Siloam fund it.

Yours sincerely in Christ
John Eld

John Eld says - for the above reason, I commend the work of the Siloam Thomas Eye Hospital to you. May I ask you to prayerfully continue to support this vital sight saving ministry or choose to do so now, if this Christian medical work in South India is new to you.

Make a donation to this project

Gift Aid Information

Gift Aid Declaration Form

Top of page