ORBIS funding from the KM Foundation
Tens of thousands of people in India will be granted access to life-changing cataracts surgery thanks to generous funding from the KM Foundation.
The Foundation has granted almost £156,000 over the next three years to screen communities across eight districts in India’s southernmost state of Tamil Nadu – home to the ancestors of KM Foundation Chairman Kumar Muthalagappan.
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The Foundation is working in partnership with global eye care charity Orbis UK which anticipates the screening of 100,000 people over the three years, with 34,500 expected to need surgery.
The money from the Foundation will be used to set up a series of Novel Eye Camps allowing ophthalmologists to work out in the field to identify those in need of a referral and / or surgery.
It will enable co-ordinators to run the programme digitally as opposed to on paper, allowing better management of follow-on treatment where needed.
Mandy Pope, Head of Major Gifts at global eye care charity Orbis UK, said the transformative reach of the programme will be life-changing — touching not just the lives of the beneficiaries, but also uplifting their families and strengthening their communities.
She said: “The economic return of this programme should not be underestimated. This is all about avoidable blindness which when left untreated causes people to lose their livelihoods or causes children to lose their education. But the funding from the KM Foundation will enable children to see a blackboard. In turn their parents can go to work and earn a living and grandparents can also be a part of family life.
“The KM Foundation was very keen on playing a part in improving the bigger picture which essentially empowers individuals to regain their sight but also improves quality of life not just for them but also for their families and communities.”
The programme will commence in August 2025 and continue until July 2028.
The money will be spent on setting up the camps, equipping them with portable diagnostic technology and digital technology to store patient information, as well as funding for the staffing, training, and community education and awareness.
Longer term plans by the charity include replicating the programme, expanding it across other regions of India and into other countries.
Dr. Rishi Raj Borah, Orbis India Country Director said: “The donation from the KM Foundation is absolutely incredible. This is a very bespoke programme we’re building from scratch and the funding has enabled us to get it off the ground. The great thing is, once it is up and running in Tamil Nadu it is completely scalable so it holds unprecedented benefits not just in India but in other countries.
“We cannot thank Kumar and his family enough.”
Kumar, an entrepreneur and philanthropist who set up the KM Foundation to aid underprivileged communities with healthcare and education projects to help their lives progress, said: “This is a fantastic project and aligns perfectly with the aims and ethos of the KM Foundation.
“Orbis’ thinking very much mirrors our own aims and objectives and we are delighted to have played a significant role in bringing this life-changing programme to fruition. The project in Tamil Nadu is just the very beginning of a fantastic project that could go on to bring unprecedented social and economic benefits to thousands of people across the world and their families and communities.”