Cataract Chronicles-25 years
As I celebrate my 25th year volunteering as an eye surgeon in Southeast Asia. I am delighted to share photos and stories about the vision challenges and the people and cultures of India, Nepal, Cambodia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Vietnam. - Dr. Gary Barth
Chronicle 2 - Dr. Barth's Upside-Down Start to Asia Charity Work
At age 20, I went to India for a Williams College-sponsored semester of Indian Art and Religion.
During the five months, I witnessed so much blindness that I redirected my studies to medicine. For 40 years, I have dedicated myself to working in India, Nepal, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Having had personal meetings with the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, India and served on many charity board positions, I have been fortunate to continue to be inspired by the much-needed work in Asia.
I served as a Trustee for eight years of the India-focused PRASAD Project, three years as a Board Member of Seva Foundation, and for a time as Board Chair of Seva’s Program Committee.
Seva Foundation is a fantastic 40-year-old charity. It was started by icons such as Larry Brilliant, MD, Suzanne Gilbert, Ram Dass, and Wavy Gravy. The foundation's first donations were from the Grateful Dead, and its first computer was donated as a gift from Steve Jobs.
I am currently the medical director of the BBH Eye Foundation, which aims to establish sustainable primary eye clinics and surgical hospitals in Nepal, Bangladesh, and Myanmar.
One of my most memorable and consequential charity volunteer trips involved setting up the first corneal transplant service in Western Nepal. This project is detailed later in Chronicles 7, 17, and 36. My medical volunteer experience with the Dalai Lama detailed in Chronicle 15.