Right now, somewhere in the world, someone is seeing clearly for the first time – thanks to you.
Through Seva, your compassion does more than restore sight. It brings back the sparkle in a child’s eye, the confidence in a mother’s stride, and the independence of a grandfather finding his way again.
At just 15, Emily faced a life-changing challenge when she suddenly lost her sight after years of watery, itchy eyes. Unable to attend school or work, she spent months at home, unsure of what her future might hold.
Seva has been selected by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to participate in the Total Product Life Cycle Advisory Program (TAP) Pilot, becoming one of the first organizations to join the program’s expansion into ophthalmic devices in 2025.
Photo of a Pristine 5.0 retina camera in Ukraine donated by Seva.
Since 2017, Seva has worked in Ukraine to address critical eye health needs, including preventing Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) in children – the leading cause of blindness among Ukrainian children – and treating CMV retinitis in patients with HIV/AIDS.
If you’ve got a special occasion coming up and feel like you’ve got enough stuff, consider a Facebook fundraiser for Seva. Whether it’s a birthday, anniversary, or holiday, it’s the perfect way to celebrate while making a meaningful impact.
When a compassionate community of supporters joins forces with a dedicated team to eliminate preventable blindness, the results are extraordinary. Thanks to your unwavering support, tens of thousands of people regained their sight – bringing hope, possibilities, and brighter futures to communities worldwide.
Here are just a few highlights from 2024 that you made possible:
Photo by Joe Raffanti: From the age of two, David Mukisa from Busia, Uganda, lived with poor eyesight, affecting every aspect of his young life. When he was seven, his mother joined a group traveling to Seva-supported Benedictine Eye Hospital. There, he was diagnosed with cataracts, and received bilateral cataract surgeries for free. “Fortunately he could be treated, even though I didn’t have money,” said David’s mom Alexia. ”A great weight has been lifted from my heart.”
Last month, the Seva Foundation and The International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness released a groundbreaking report revealing a striking truth:
Children with vision loss learn at half the rate of those with good or corrected vision. Put another way – every year, 6.3 million school years are lost due to uncorrected vision, amounting to $173 billion in future earnings each year. Imagine the impact if those kids could simply see the board. What innovations would emerge? What challenges could these young minds overcome?
With headliners that included Lucinda Williams and Seth MacFarlane as host, San Francisco’s August Hall lived up to its name when Larry Brilliant’s 80th birthday celebration rolled onto its stage on August 24.
Along with BFF Wavy Gravy and his wife Jahanara Romney, Larry and Girija Brilliant, and a few hundred friends and colleagues filled the venue with what can only be described as love. Jai and Ezra Uttal, Krishna Das, and Salman Ahmed spun their special magic as they strummed and sang. Seth MacFarlane crooned songbook favorites and made the entire house – performers and audience – feel like part of the Seva community.
What happens when committed public health professionals unite with a community of supporters to take on one of the biggest challenges?
You get it done!
Lately, I’ve been reflecting on the progress that Seva and our teams have been making. Our analytics from this past year show that more people than ever are accessing eye care services through Seva-developed networks.
“Kids” and “cataracts” aren’t two words one hears very often in the same sentence. For one thing, the young person having the vision difficulty might not make that much of it, assuming everyone sees objects surrounded by a big fuzzy blur. They may be shy about bringing it up, or a little freaked out that they can’t see the front of the classroom or aren’t as adept at sports as they’d like to be.