Mobile Surgical Camp · Sep 28 – Oct 3, 2026 · Skardu
A high-impact, $72 surgical intervention in the isolated mountains of Gilgit-Baltistan.
Mission Status
$1,100 of $9,000 raised·15 of 125 surgeries funded·$7,900 to go
The Problem
Out of 207 million citizens in Pakistan, 1.12 million are legally blind. Visual impairment removes adults from the workforce and forces family members into full-time caregiving, destabilizing entire households.
Tragically, most cases are entirely curable. Cataracts cause 66.7% of Pakistan's blindness — yet can be permanently cured through a single, 15-minute surgical intervention.
Gilgit-Baltistan's geography turns a public health crisis into a humanitarian emergency. Skardu sits at 2,500 meters — a 22-hour journey from Islamabad, with winter road closures that make medical travel nearly impossible.
vs. 1:1,206 nationally
~250 needed surgery
The Financial Architecture
For our inaugural Skardu mission, leadership, medical expertise, administration, and fundraising are provided entirely by volunteers. After standard payment processing fees, every public donation flows directly to patient care and surgical logistics.
The $72 Miracle
$72.00
For the 2026 Skardu Mission.
100% of our $9,000 mission capitalization funds patient care and essential logistics. Divided across 125 targeted surgeries — every dollar is accounted for.
per surgery, lifetime
economic return on cost
*Card and PayPal donations net standard payment processor fees (~2–3%). Zelle transfers carry zero fees — 100% reaches Skardu.
Where Your Dollar Goes
Surgical consumables and the logistics to deliver them. Nothing else.
Project First Light
100% patient care
Sector Benchmark1
75% / 25% care / admin
Our team donates their time, travel, and technical work. There is no office, no salaried staff, no fundraising fee. Every $72 you give buys one surgery — not a fraction of one.
1 Charity Navigator considers 25% administrative overhead the upper bound of an "efficient" medical nonprofit; sector average is 17–25%.
Our Partners
Implementing Partner
A Kuwait-based humanitarian foundation with a 40-year track record across South Asia. Marafie provides logistical command, vendor relationships, and the regional authority required to mobilize a surgical team into Gilgit-Baltistan within days.
Surgical Host
The 100-bed referral hospital serving all of Baltistan. Its operating theaters, recovery wards, and Sehat Sahulat-approved billing infrastructure make the "Double Impact" reimbursement model possible. Hosting the camp September 28 – October 3, 2026.
Hospital Capacity
Schools Built
Relief Managed
Annual Camps
Clinical Excellence
A six-person operative unit deployed to Skardu for the six-day mobile camp, September 28 – October 3, 2026 — combining surgical leadership, attending ophthalmologists, and senior theater technicians.
Assistant Professor & Consultant Ophthalmologist
Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology at Lahore General Hospital and Consultant Ophthalmologist at EYESITE, Gulberg. Over a decade leading operative planning, theater protocols, and post-op review.
Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology
Experienced ophthalmologist skilled in cataract surgery, retinal surgery, LASIK, keratoconus, glaucoma, and dry eye. FRCSEd (UK), Royal College of Surgeons Edinburgh; FCPS, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Pakistan.
Final-Year FCPS Resident, Ophthalmology
Resident Eye Surgeon (PG3) at Lahore General Hospital, managing OPD and surgical care. Previously Medical Officer with Gilgit-Baltistan Health Department in Skardu for nearly three years. MBBS, Allama Iqbal Medical College.
Senior Registrar, Ophthalmology — Mayo Hospital Lahore
Senior Registrar in Ophthalmology at Mayo Hospital Lahore, bringing surgical experience and pre-operative assessment expertise to the Skardu deployment across screening, biometry, and candidacy review.
Dr. Khizer's Team
Senior member of the in-theater technical team supporting the deployment. Oversees instrument sterilization, microscope and phaco-machine calibration, and surgical tray readiness across both operating theaters. Profile to follow.
Surgical Support Staff
Operating-room support staff coordinating patient transfer, intra-operative materials handling, and recovery handoff to ward nursing. Keeps theater turnover on schedule across the 125-case deployment. Profile to follow.
Youth Leadership Incubator
This camp is a leadership incubator. Rayyed, Raffay, Rahmir, and Abdullah donate their time and technical skills to ground operations — proof that meaningful philanthropy can begin before adulthood. Our blueprint is designed to be replicated by other families seeking hands-on humanitarian work.
Field Operations
Coordinates patient intake logistics and on-site triage workflow during the camp's daily 5am setup.
Documentation Lead
Captures patient stories and post-op outcomes for the transparency report.
International Coordinator
Canadian donor relations, cross-border coordination, remote support.
Youth Engagement
Peer fundraising, school presentations, social media amplification.
Gift the Sight
Zelle · No fees
Open your bank's Zelle, send to the email below, and add memo: Gift the Sight.
Zelle email
donations@giftthesight.org
PayPal / Venmo / Credit Card
Securely fund a $72 surgery through PayPal. Card and PayPal balance accepted.
Venmo is automatically supported at checkout.
Transparency · Where We Stand
$1,100 raised of $9,000
Funded by September 28, 2026 — camp opening day.
12% funded · $7,900 to go · 15 of 125 surgeries funded