A village with great vision

Prasad Bhosekar
While celebrities make news for their noble act of donating their eyes after death, the significance of their gesture pales when compared to a little village in Andhra Pradesh’s Vizianagaram district. In this village the entire population has pledged to donate their eyes. It all started with an eye hospital near the village of Bheemavaram. The staff at the hospital decided to educate a couple of villagers on the need for eye donors. However they couldn’t possibly have expected that in a matter of weeks not less than 700 villagers would turn up to pledge their eyes. That isn’t all, the enrollment drive continues as the number of donors steadily increases.

According to a villager M Appalanaidu, the fact that it was such a noble cause what was inspired him to become a donor. His entire family too has joined him in pledging their eyes. They firmly believe that this is one way of ensuring that their lives are blessed.

The sarpanch of Bheemavaram village explains that the trend began through word of mouth. To date the number of donors is 700 but the villagers are going even further by spreading the message to other villages as well.

More than anything, this act of collective unselfishness speaks volumes of the unity that exists in this village. It isn’t just in the case of donating eyes but all major decisions concerning village development always result in unanimity. Perhaps there’s a lesson here that the controversial leaders of the nation should learn from this village.