“I have pledged my eyes. When I die, my eyes will not go to the soil. It will give sight to two blind persons” said Deputy Chief Minister Dr Parameswar as he inaugurated the Project Vision Eye Care Campus at Kasapura on Sunday along with visually challenged child prodigy Ms Fathima Anshi.

Dr Parameshwar expressed the hope that more people will come forward to donate their eyes with Project Vision, an initiative of the Claretian Fathers working for eye donation and eye care.

Dr Parameswar also inaugurated the Project Vision Eye Care Clinic in the campus which is established to provide eye care services for the rural poor. He also flagged off the Ambulance for the Project Vision outreach program. Through the Ambulance Project Vision has planned to provide eye care facilities for the villages in Korategere, Madugiri and Gauribidanur Taluks in Karnataka. Project Vision Eye Care Campus is situated at Kasapura Gate, Arasapura Panchayath, Korategere Taluk, Tumkur Dt, 100 kilometres from Bangalore.

Fr Jacob Arackal, Provincial of the Claretian Fathers led the blessing of the building.

Deputy Commissioner of Tumkur District, Dr Rakesh Kumar and Superintendent of Police Mr Vamshi also attended the program. Panchayat President Hanumakka Rangaiah was also present.

Project Vision was started in 2013 by Fr George Kannanthanam Claretian priest and social worker to give sight to the blind and to help the blind persons to live a meaningful life. The eye donation movement led by Project Vision in Bangalore has motivated about 500,000 persons to pledge to donate their eyes so far. Sight has already been given to about 300 persons through corneal transplant. India has one third of the worlds 39 million blind population. Only 30,000 persons out of the nine million people who died last year, donated their eyes. The motto of Project Vision is 'Let Everyone see'.

According to Fr George, if all the Christians in the country came forward to donate their eyes, the Christian community can provide sight to all the blind who can get sight. Various congregations, dioceses and Christian organisations like the Vincent De Paul society has adopted eye donation as part of their work.

Project Vision Eye Clinic is supported by Ysmen Club. ONGC is the sponsor for the Ambulance and the outreach program.