People enjoying at the SEF Dandia night, at the Santa Clara Convention Center, Sept. 23. (All Photos: Vansh A. Gupta/Siliconeer)

Like every year, this year the Sankara Eye Foundation brought joy to Silicon Valley with a lively celebration of music and dance as it hosted its annual Dandia event at the Santa Clara Convention Center, Sept. 23.

Sankara Eye Foundation gives free eye surgeries to children and adults in India who are visually handicapped. Sankara has a chain of eye hospitals comprising a team of 200 doctors, 600 paramedical professionals, 275 support staff and total bed strength of 1,800. It has treated and performed more than 1.6 million Free Eye Care surgeries. By the end of 2017, Sankara Eye Foundation will have built its 12th hospital to include service for Rajasthan, Telangana and Madhya Pradesh. More information is available at http://www.giftofvision.org.

Siliconeer Youth Editor Vansh A. Gupta, presents a photo essay.

People enjoying at the SEF Dandia night, at the Santa Clara Convention Center, Sept. 23.

A sold-out event for more than a decade in the Bay Area, Dandia organized by Sankara Eye Foundation has struck a chord with people from diverse communities, and different age groups. It is an amalgamation of cultures, festive celebration, and a dance party, all at once.

Attendees came in large numbers at the Santa Clara Convention Center and danced the night away. SEF chairman Murali Krishnamurthy mesmerized the audience with his soulful singing as he also updated the attendees on the status of various projects and encouraged them to join the movement.

This event is a mix of both Garba and Dandia, soulful music, and hundreds of volunteers working round the clock to make sure guests have a wonderful experience.

As a non-profit, Sankara Eye Foundation volunteers have been working tirelessly for two decades to eradicate curable blindness in India. Working on a model of 80:20 free to paid patients ratio, the funds raised through these events are used to further the cause. Over 1.6 million free eye surgeries have already been performed. SEF India has an enviable success rate of 98.8% and 96% patients have been able to get back to their basic chores.

The organization is not just treating people but also training future doctors through Sankara Academy of Vision. SEF, USA is striving to provide vision to those in need and any support will accelerate the work. The Charity Navigator gives the organization a four-star rating for financial accountability and transparency. There are eight super specialty hospitals and four new hospitals are coming up in Jaipur, Indore, Hyderabad, and Mumbai. Sankara Eye Hospital in Jaipur will be open, December 2017.

Interested readers can visit http://www.giftofvision.org/ for more info on how to support the cause.