India – why Bihar?

Bihar is a butterfly-shaped state in north eastern India - the country’s poorest region.

When we were first started working in Bihar its population was well over 100million, one in every 100 people was completely blind from cataract alone and countless others were blind or at risk of blindness from other easily preventable conditions.

For this sight charity - our motto is The Worst First - what better place in which to work? No matter that Bihar was also a difficult and volatile region.
We believe that charities should justify their existence by demonstrating that they are meeting an unmet need. And that they have the expertise and know how to tackle this specific need.

We were invited into Bihar by Dr Helen Nirmala Rao, an Indian ophthalmologist who knew more about delivering eye care to the rural poor than anyone else. 25 years on we are the first port of call for Bihari eye specialists eschewing private practice in India’s big cities (which still attract the vast majority of all doctors) and who want to used their skills where they are most needed.
Together we are all proud to be part of this Bihar success story. We urge you to query the stereotypes about Biharis that feature elsewhere in the media…and keep rin touch with this exciting and ever-evolving work work via Lucy Mathen’s Blogs.