America
Romney appreciates India more after trip with Charity Vision
By
Arun Kumar After a nine day trip to India with his family working with Charity
Vision, former US Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has
returned home "with greater appreciation, both for India and for
America".
The Provo, Utah, based Charity Vision, whose mission is
to "bring an end to curable blindness" provides surgery for the very
poor in 25 countries, including India. Last year, it carried out almost
40,000 surgeries.
"Remarkably, it does this on a budget of just
over $1 million - about $25 per surgery" wrote Romney in a post on the
trip on Medium.com.
"India is sensory overload: the horns, the
press of people, the pollution, the heartbreaking poverty, and yes, the
beauty of its landscape and edifices are overwhelming," he wrote.
"Through
it all, however, inspiring points of human light shined brightly:
doctors who donate multiple days every week, a mother who has opened her
family circle to include 108 orphans, children who tenderly care for a
sister or brother."
"What a blessing for me, my sons, and for my
grandchildren to witness another great and free people building a better
future for themselves, drawing on the strength of the human spirit,"
Romney wrote.
"We return home with greater appreciation, both for India and for America."
The
former Massachusetts governor, who in January announced that he would
not be making a third run for the White House, was in India with sons
Matt and Josh and four grandkids.
Josh, who is the part-time and volunteer president of Charity Vision, got the entire Romney family involved in the India trip.
"Together,
we hosted 14 people who had generously donated to the charity. We saw
the sights in Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, and Varanasi," Romney wrote.
"We
also performed vision screenings for school children and for the
elderly; we lifted spirits at an orphanage; and we witnessed the miracle
of restored vision for individuals who had long suffered from cataract
blindness," he wrote.
Charity Vision's economic efficiency is due
to its exclusive reliance on local doctors operating in local health
facilities, Romney wrote.
Surgical equipment and supplies are
generally sourced from US military surplus and from helpful US
corporations, all at very large discounts from their original price, he
noted.
(Arun Kumar can be contacted at [email protected])