Tej Kohli Foundation Organizes a Walk-A-Thon in the National Capital Region

Event Name : WALK-A-THON
Event Date : 27-Feb-2011
Event Place : Leisure Valley Gurgaon

On February 27, 2011, thousands of Gurgaon residents, including college students, senior citizens and  a large team of CRPF and BSF jawans sacrificed their Sunday morning sleep and opened their eyes to the startling prevalence of corneal blindness in India, thanks to the Walk-A-Thon co-organized by the Tej Kohli Foundation, Niramaya Eye Bank and the Run for Vision Foundation in Gurgaon.

Organized to spread awareness about eye donation and the eradication of blindness, the  fun-filled event saw the presence of around 1500 people. Its premiere guest, Mr. S S Deswal, Police Commissioner, Gurgaon and Dr T.N Ahooja, President, Niramaya, flagged off the 5 km ‘Walk-A-Thon’. Both of them walked the complete stretch and Mr. Deswal himself pledged eye donation while urging everyone to do the same.

The Tej Kohli Foundation, a philanthropic organization established by Costa Rica-based and Delhi-born entrepreneur Tej Kohli, organized the event as part of its "Eye Donation and Corneal Transplant Mission". Currently, the foundation covers the full cost of all eye surgeries being performed by the Niramaya Eye Bank in this region. Rajiv Pradhan, Foundation Head, India expressed immense joy and satisfaction at achieving the 100 beneficiaries milestone this February and also announced that more awareness events were being organized in the near future.

He said the organization is working on, among other things, popularizing eye donations so that vision could be restored to as many blind people as possible. The foundation launched this ambitious corneal transplant program in June of last year, in partnership with the Niramaya Trust.

"Our aim is to reach out far and wide and promote the good cause of eye donation, a gift which can transform the lives of blind people that face hardships and challenges everyday. The gift of vision can change the life and world of a blind man," said Mr. Pradhan.

A major attraction after the event was a live performance by Azadi, a Faridabad based music band led by Amit. They played several popular numbers including a song composed exclusively for eye donation.

Dr Hitendra Ahooja, Medical Director, Niramaya expressed hope that the number of eye donationd in Gurgaon would exceed to 1000 per annum in the coming years. Thirty two eye donations have already taken place in first two months of this year.