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home / 世界杯决赛2022

operation eyesight expands life-changing efforts at home and in africa

calgary businessman art jenkyns met dr. ben gullison, a...

by david parker

jul 24 2023
read time 3 minute read
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under the leadership of kash bhoosnurmath, named president and ceo of calgary-based operation eyesight in 2021, the organization has expanded programs and increased the number of countries worked in to 11. courtesy, operation eyesight / postmedia network
calgary businessman art jenkyns met dr. ben gullison, a physician working in a mission hospital in sompeta, india, in 1963. he was back in canada to seek funding to aid his work with the arogyavaram eye hospital and, impressed with the need, jenkyns was inspired to found operation eyesight here that same year.
sixty years later it has grown into a highly respected international development organization working to prevent blindness and restore sight in sub-saharan africa and south asia, and today is recognized as a key player in the global eye care sector.
jenkyns would be amazed to see how much his fledgling organization has blossomed from the gifts of a few generous calgarians — three generations of his family are still huge supporters — to such a successful and respected agency.
in the early years it started screening camps and performing cataract surgeries. by the 1980s it began funding prevention programs such as immunization, improved nutrition and health clinics to deal with the causes of blindness and improve general health.
in its fourth decade, operation eyesight moved on to treat other eye diseases, such as glaucoma and trachoma, and to help avoidable blindness by funding water wells in zambia and ethiopia to allow people to wash their eyes to help prevent trachoma.
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in 2021, the board appointed kashinath (kash) bhoosnurmath as its new president and ceo — under his leadership it has expanded programs and increased the number of countries worked in to 11.
bhoosnurmath came to calgary with more than 30 years of humanitarian experience with extensive leadership and expertise in international program development, implementations and advocacy. with postgraduate degrees in science and technology in india, and regional development and planning in thailand and germany, before joining operation eyesight in 2009 as senior director of india, he was deputy country director for save the children in the u.k. and director of india for action aid of france.
a trustee of the international agency for the prevention of blindness, bhoosnurmath recently returned from its meetings in singapore, and earlier this year attended the grand opening event of the new operating theatre in kenya of the iten county referral hospital’s eye unit, and the opening of a new vision centre in kapiri mposhi district in zambia. both are the result of the support and direction of the calgary-based organization.
bhoosnurmath says the organization benefits greatly from partnerships it has secured, such as with the renowned lv prasad eye institute in hyderabad that acts as a technical adviser, and the many governments, hospitals and communities it serves through those partnerships.
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fundraising was launched here in calgary and relied on independent donors — now, for every dollar raised in canada they are more than equalled by overseas contributions. for many years operation eyesight was responsible for paying the salaries of surgeons, hospital staff and medical supplies. they are now paid locally, while operation eyesight funds the construction of new hospitals in partnership with the facilities that bear the cost of equipment.
in-country donations are also provided by corporations such as standard chartered india and the cognizant foundation.
a continuing focus is in working with its hospital-based community eye health program, in which more support is garnered locally so the communities can take ownership of their own eye health. and bhoosnurmath reports that a study is currently underway to strategize how operation eyesight can work toward implementing a program to care for indigenous and marginalized groups in canada.
the jenkyns family have every right to feel proud of what art and his wife, una, had the vision to launch and worked so hard to establish., and which they continue to so passionately support.
notes:

alt hotel calgary university district has welcomed its first guests to the neighbourhood, located along a bustling retail main street, steps away from some of the city’s best restaurants and retailers. the third germain hotels property in calgary, it will benefit from its proximity to employment hubs, including alberta children’s hospital and the university of calgary.

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david parker appears regularly in the herald. read his columns online at calgaryherald.com/business. he can be reached at 403-830-4622 or by email at info@davidparker.ca

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