Written by: Patrick McGraw
Now Eye See, a student-led entrepreneurial project seeking to provide access to cataract treatment in India, has filmed an interview set to air on the Hope Channel at 8:30 p.m. on Friday, March 26. The interview is part of the network’s “Revival for Mission” program and is already available online at hopetv.org/revivalformission/.
The project, according to Co-Project Manager and junior business student Vincent Dan, “focuses on raising awareness and funds to support/sustain cataracts operations at the Ruby Nelson Memorial Hospital in Punjab, India.” The organizers work with Dr. Jacob Prabhakar, surgeon and medical director of Ruby Nelson Memorial Hospital (RNMH), by selling merchandise and spreading awareness to fund ophthalmological treatment for his patients.
The project itself exists under Southern’s chapter of Enactus, a global nonprofit that invests in student entrepreneurial projects in order to advance the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
“We work to raise funds and awareness for Dr. Prabhakar and the amazing work of healing he and his team are doing at the RNMH and all over the world,” said Alyson Zapara, project manager and junior business administration major. “Currently, we’re fundraising to purchase solar panels for the RNMH, which will save them around $1,600 a month.”
Zapara said she and her colleagues are amazed by Prabhakar’s work.
“The Now Eye See team holds Zoom meetings with Dr. Prabhakar throughout the semester, and he is always ready to tell a moving story or startling statistic of what their team has been doing,” Zapara said. “And to him, it’s all in a day’s work or ‘normal.’ Meanwhile, we all are amazed at what they can accomplish with their skills, dedication and the power of Jesus.”
When asked how they became involved in Now Eye See, Zapara and Dan shared their own experiences with the project.
“I chose Now Eye See because I love how it fulfills such an important and far-reaching need,” Zapara said. “… It’s an incredible opportunity that has grown me in more ways than one for which I’m grateful.”
“This project is of especial importance to me,” Dan said. “Although I was never blind, I had very poor eyesight. I had the opportunity to get my eyes lasered with LASIK surgery and have enjoyed the benefits taken for granted ever since. The mission resonated with me, and it continues to motivate me and my team every day to strive and make the biggest impact we can for those in need.
”Information about Now Eye See can be found on its website, www.noweyeseesau.com, or on their Instagram, @noweyesee_sau.