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 serving on many charity board positions, I have been fortunate to continue being 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 started by icons such as Larry Brilliant, MD, Suzanne Gilbert, Ram Das, 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.
One of my more memorable projects was helping to launch the first Corneal Transplant
service in two-thirds of Nepal west of Kathmandu. In the photo, I have 12 corneal transplant tissues-all of which were put in blind eyes by my good friend, Bidya Pant, MD.
At Seva Foundation, I worked and volunteered/traveled with Jack Blanks, the Executive Director. After seven years, he retired from Seva, and I rotated off the Board. We paired up with another Seva Board member to set up our own private foundation in 2019: BBH Eye Foundation.
