Published by Senator Mobina Jaffer on 13 September 2010
The Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade fact-finding mission in India is still in progress. I am learning a lot about India and the tremendous growth that is taking place here. If we Canadians do not nurture and further develop our relationship with Indians, I believe we will have missed a great commercial opportunity to the detriment of our Canadian interests. In fact, I strongly believe that Canada needs India far more than India needs Canada.
After receiving a very informative briefing I felt very well prepared for our day in Hyderbad. Our day began by visiting the LV Prasad Eye Institute which is named after one of its founders. Shortly after we arrived at the Eye Institute we heard from Dr.Rao and his wife Pratihba who were Americans of Indian decent. They offered us insight into what the objectives of the eye institute were and explained to us that the work they were doing benefited not only those who resided in India but also those who suffered from impaired vision in other developing countries. After hearing from Dr. Roa and his wife we were then warmly welcomed by Dr. Geeta Vemuganti. She explained to us that the Institute provides a “cafeteria approach to services, from simple care to advanced tertiary care.” After attaining an understanding of what the Institute was all about, we were given the opportunity to explore the facility. Upon entering I knew at once that I was in a very special place. It quickly became evident that this Institute, which is a World Health Organization Collaborating Center for Prevention of Blindness, is a comprehensive eye health facility. The Institute offers comprehensive patient care, sight enhancement, rehabilitation services and high-impact rural eye health programs. It also pursues cutting edge research and offers training in human resources for all levels of ophthalmic personnel.
In regards to prevention, technicians undergo a year of training and then venture off into the villages and help villagers in many ways. Not only do these technicians provide glasses to those who require corrective lenses, they also identify more serious eye diseases and enable villagers to seek a cure at the Institute. As I understand, 70 percent of primary care work is done by these technicians. When touring the Institute there was one room where non-paying patients were sitting. I was truly struck by the dignity with which these people were treated. Once they were processed they were treated as paying patients throughout the hospital. There were also patient advocates who helped patients through very trying times. This is a concept I am hoping to learn more about for Canadian hospitals.
The other thing that struck me about the Institute was the integral role that women played (from Dr. Geeta Vemuganti to her many female colleagues). There was an empowering feeling of "gender equity and eye health"; 49 percent of outpatients and 53 percent of surgical patients were women. It was evident to me that there was a great effort to empower women by restoring eyesight.
As a British Colombian, I was very proud to hear of the great work that Dr. Paul Dubord from the University of British Columbia is doing at the Eye Institute. Dr. Rao was very complimentary of Dr. Dubord's work. The other Canadian partners were the Canadian International Development Agency, Operation Eyesight Universal, Eyesight International, the University of Waterloo, Canadian Executive Service Organization and the University of Ottawa. Dr. Rao urged us Canadians to convince our government to set aside a sum of money and identify a region to help prevent blindness. He gave the example of Australia, which has set aside forty-five million dollars to prevent blindness in Asia. Dr Rao's vision is "blindness can be history." After seeing the work of the Eye Institute, I agree. Blindness can be history. We all have work to do in order to make this a reality.
From the Eye Institute, we traveled to see the work of Infotech Enterprises, which works with many Canadian companies such as Bombardier, with offices in Montreal. Their mission is "Creating Business Impact." It is an engineering company that provides sustainable solutions to address the business needs of the engineering value chain to accelerate an organization's growth. They work with the London Underground and other networks to help them become more efficient.
We then visited the Indian School of Business. This school is an internationally 12th ranked, research-driven, independent management institute. We had an opportunity to hear from faculty and students. The students were very impressive. They had come from all over the world to the business school. These Indian students chose this business school even though they could have joined any business school, as they wanted to work and build networks in India. They informed us that the opportunities in India for young people were many and they also encouraged us to let Canadian students know of these opportunities.
From the Indian School of Business, we visited the Speaker of the Assembly of Andra Pradesh and other senior government officials. We learned about the progress the state was making and the challenges the people of Andra Pradesh were facing. Later we heard from Dr. Geeta Reddy, the State Minister of Tourism, Culture and Public Relations. She encouraged us to return to Andra Pradesh as a tourist, as there were many sites that we could enjoy. I will someday return to see this state with my family as a tourist.
There are so many thoughts going through my mind about my day in Hyderabad, but the most important thought is that individuals can make a big difference in the world. From building a world class eye institute to cure blindness; to a world class engineering firm to bring efficient solutions; to a world class business school for young graduates to learn to work and network in India.
One person can make a difference.