The Lion’s club of Central Madras and Sankara Nethralaya, two institutions working at the forefront of banishing blindness and providing vision to millions, honoured the memory of two great women whose personal example would continue to ignite their passion for service to the blind in the years to come, on the 21st of June 2013 at a grand function attended by senior office bearers of the Lions Club and senior management and staff members of Sankara Nethralaya, held at the Sri VD. Swami Auditorium, Sankara Nethralaya, Main campus. The spirit of courage and service of the lady who defied darkness to become the greatest ambassador and a beacon of hope to the blind and the memory of a brilliant, passionate and dedicated doctor who brought the latest techniques with a human touch to her patients were recalled. Members and office bearers of the Lions Club of Central Madras spoke in length on the significant contributions of Helen Keller, the role of Lions clubs worldwide in combating blindness and the successful partnership between the Lions Club of Central Madras and Sankara Nethralaya in this noble initiative. Delivering the Chief Guest’s address Lion Sangeeta Jatia, Director, Lions Clubs International hailed Dr SS.Badrinath as a ‘Living God’, she emphasized that the best things in life cannot be seen or heard but felt and his service to the blind is one of them. She emphasized that while no one can do everything everybody could certainly do something, adding that every one of us should learn a lesson in advocacy from the great Helen Keller.
Speaking on the occasion Dr SS.Badrinath, Chairman Emeritus, Sankara Nethralaya expressed that it was most heartening and inspiring to note that such great work is being carried out in the field of eye care and providing of vision by the Lion’s Club and young and motivated people from across the country. He expressed his deep gratitude to the Lions Club of Central Madras for their continued support and encouragement and had a special word of praise for Lion Harinarayanan whom he described as an ‘Ambassador of Vision’, Dr SS.Badrinath recalled Dr Sitalakshmi as a great surgeon and a wonderful person with an unshakeable involvement in the institution she served and her work and a spirit to do more and more for her patients, a quality which everyone of us should imbibe.
Esteemed dignitaries of the function, District Governor Lion TAS. Ramamurthy and past District Governor Lion Dr. KS.Lakshmi commended the award winners and achievers for their sacrifice and service to society and felicitated the Lions Club of Central Madras for its yeoman service to the visually impaired.
The day witnessed the awarding of the I(Eye) Care, Young achiever and Knight of the Blind awards, to the thundering applause of the gathering, we take pleasure in bringing the details of the same below
i(eye) care awards
a. Sri Sai Lions Netralaya, Patna, Bihar
b. Nethrodhaya, a Chennai based Self Help Group (SHG) engaged in providing eye care and rehabilitation to the visually impaired.
(II) Knight of the Blind Award
Dr. Amarnath Choudhary, Chief Eye Surgeon, S S L N, Patna Mr. Babu Vijayakumar, ML, Chennai (Born Blind)
(III) Dr. G. Sitalakshmi Gift of Sight Award
Dr. Arundhati Tamuli, Chief Medical Officer, Lion K K Saharia Eye Hospital, Dibrugarh, Assam
(IV) Young Achiever Award
R. Swarnalakshmi, 10th Std Student of Little Flower Higher Sec. School for the Blind, She was invited to address at United Nations, New York in March 2013.
The day ended with the presenting of a special mirror as a Low Vision Care device to people affected by partial blindness.