COLUMBUS, OH (TIP): Dr. V.K. Raju, MD, FRCS, FACS, the Founder and Medical Director of the Eye Foundation of American, who is on a crusade to eliminate avoidable blindness around the world, has been selected for induction in to the Global Medical Missions Hall of Fame.

Eye Foundation of America began its work in 1979 in Morgantown, West Virginia, USA. EFA grew out of his earlier work providing services and treatment near his birthplace in Rajahamundry, a town in Southeast India‘s Andhra Pradesh. Raju organized teams to go to remote areas and deliver eye care in areas where there otherwise were none. These traveling clinics were known as “eye camps.” (Eye camps remain a standard part of the Foundation’s services today.)

Raju dedicated virtually all the spare time he had outside his busy ophthalmological practice in West Virginia and used his own funds to cover many of the expenses. Eventually it became apparent that the lack of accessible, affordable eye care was very large and shared by an enormous number of people worldwide. In order to battle avoidable blindness on a global scale and to gain strength by partnering with other organizations, Raju created the 501 © 3 nonprofit organization that we know today as the Eye Foundation of America.

Today, Foundation has grown far beyond its original size and scope but never outgrew the vision of its founder, who continues to look ahead. EFA has built modern eye hospitals and trained ophthalmic assistants and other personnel to carry on our work. We provide workshops and fellowships for physicians and medical students throughout the world. We also conduct research to find better ways of preventing blindness, to learn how to distribute Vitamin A efficiently

His team has done wonders, considering the tremendous work done by them.

*          2 million+ outpatients

*          300 thousand+ eye surgeries

*          25 thousand+ on children

This is completed by the Eye Foundation of America team since 1977 in India and 21 other developing countries. Additionally, the Eye Foundation of America lays great emphasis on teaching and training of health professionals who receive the Foundation’s support at every level.

The induction ceremony will be held on Saturday, April 1, 2017 in the Howard L. Collier Building on the UT Health Science Campus. Following the induction ceremony, which begins promptly at 7:30 p.m., there will be a plaque unveiling and reception in the Jacobs Interprofessional Immersive Simulation Center Atrium.