Kanpur: An old man shifts on the flimsy chair, his wizen face apprehensive as he stares into the middle distance. The white light of the otoscope illuminates his clouded pupil; behind him the crowd's clamor rises and falls with every name called in the Ram-Leela Eye Camp. This man is part of the estimated 15 million blind in India and is one of the 9.5% whose blindness is induced by cataracts. Cataracts translate
to white waterfall in Latin, the term coined as one's vision is akin to looking through a white waterfall once afflicted. Approximately, every year 3 million people develop cataracts in their eyes; the figure further solidified by the mass of figures both young and old of India's lower socioeconomic class in the Eye Camp, an eye clouded over as they wait their turn to be examined.

Dr. Gaurav Dubey converses with a patient prior to screening.

The Ram-Leela eye camp is one of the many organized eye camps around India which cater to cataract patients for free."Every person has a calling; mine is serving the needy," proclaims Dr. Awadh Dubey as he screens a patient. Beside him, Dr. Gaurav Dubey soothes an anxious woman as she fidgets in her seat.  80% of India's facilities and doctors are only in 20% of the country; eye camps are useful ways to treat the masses  This particular eye camp in Kanpur has been running for over twenty years, catering to over a hundred patients throughout the week. The patients go through three screenings, in which they are divided into three categories; patients who do not require treatment, patients who require medication but not surgery, and patients who require surgery. After the day of the screening, patients are called in batches of thirty each day to the clinic where dedicated doctors perform the operation.

Masses wait their turn to be screened at the Ram Leela eye camp.

From $2,500 to $30; low cost cataract surgery has saved hundreds from blindness whilst maintaining the quality of equipment and surgeon. The cost is reduced through minor changes that do not diminish the overall safety of the operation such as a difference in the lenses implanted and the surgery technique. 

A cataract at the bottom of a bottle.

Despite these changes, the efficiency of the operation is not squandered as I observe the proceedings. The atmosphere of the operation room is calm, the surgeons focused as I avoid the sterilized equipment, my breathing even behind my mask. Dr. Gaurav Dubey demonstrates the steps of the straightforward surgery as he implants the artificial lense in place of the milky obstruction. The patient does not feel any pain and the movement of the eye is restricted, thus enabling for a safe and efficient surgery with patients who leave with renewed eyesight.

However, eye camps have setbacks. On December 4th in Amritsar, eye camp patients contracted infections due to a lack of proper equipment; in August 2008-2009 nine patients in Tamilnadu lost their eyesight after receiving surgery in a camp. Yet with frequent equipment checks and supervision, eye camps are a necessary and useful way to provide the masses with treatment they cannot afford.

However, the Ram Leela eye camp is an ideal, if not perfect, example of what eye camps should aim for. The screenings had structure, the surgeons passion and the equipment was from the respected R.K. Devi Eye Centre. The environment was sterilized, calm and organized; there was no chaos, inexperienced staff nor faulty equipment in the operation room. Overall, the high quality surgery in addition to the doctor's passion have succeeded in producing a place to aid India's needy and work towards a blind-free future.

Recently, I went on an expedition to Borneo with some other ninth graders. Borneo is the third largest island in the World and the largest island in Asia; it is located in Malaysia. The island boasts a unique ecosystem with many animals endemic to the region such as the Borneo Bay Cat or the Proboscis Monkey. I stayed at the DGFC Wildlife Centre near Sabah; the centre was by the river and had many trails leading into the forest. We were housed in a hostel with clean, comfortable beds and warm showers. Electricity ran from six A.M. to eleven P.M. which led to uncomfortable nights in the relentless heat, however the experience made up for any shortcomings experienced.

It was magical. The looming trees, thick foliage obscuring the endless sky. The soft chatter of cicadas in the trees as exotic insects scuttled past. The sensation of sitting on a motorboat as it glides down the river, watching the leaves tremble and branches sway as a silver-haired lemur settles down, gaze curious. Clans of long tailed macaques by the riverside, conversing in the treetops and relaxing in the sunlight. The leering grin of a crocodile; the elusive grace of a civet.

The most unreal experience were the nightwalks in the rainforest. It was an alien world to everything I was familiar with, a world where wildlife ruled and darkness pervaded. A place of miracles and great beauty. The thousands of spiders' eyes shone like diamonds as they twinkled from the ground, the civet's silent movements as its eyes glowed golden. Breathtaking birds with vivid feathers huddled on branches, heads buried in their wings. I had never experienced greater serenity or awe when we turned off our head-torches and embraced the pitch blackness of the forest, marveled at its structure and its inhabitants.

However, the other experiences were equally interesting and meaningful. Cleaning up garbage from the river in the sweltering heat; canopy climbing; identifying microscopic spider webs with talcum powder; tree planting and river surveys. I enjoyed river survey and tree planting the most as the former allowed me to look at some of the animals up front and bond with the staff more while the latter was a very relaxing, methodical experience.

Overall, I learned a lot on this spectacular trip. I discovered how to appreciate nature, the power of it and how encompassing it is. I realized the coexistence of this world and the fragile balance that holds us all together. Most importantly, I got over my fear of spiders and am semi tolerant to bugs now (with the exception of cockroaches, of course).