I met a man from Little Himalaya Village. He lost his sister at the age of 17 due to no treatment. Now he has recovered the scene of 100,000 poor patients for free. He is…
Those who know Nepal’s “God of Vision” have recovered their vision of more than 100,000 impoverished patients around the world with low-cost surgery.
How does Himalayan doctor change the lives of more than 100,000 people for free? Know the details
In a quiet Himalayan village, where almost no roads gradually disappear, health care gradually disappears, one chooses to change his life with his skills, compassion and a pair of stable hands. Meet Dr. Sanduk Ruit, a Nepali ophthalmologist, who restored his sight to over 100,000 people, most of whom were completely free. In January 2025, when he received Bahrain’s prestigious ISA Award, his extraordinary work finally gained global recognition.
Dr. Ruit, known by many as the “God of Vision”, has been working for decades to help the poor see again. What makes his work even more special is that while cataract surgery usually costs about Rs 2.5 lakh (or $3,000) in Western countries, Dr. Ruit and his team performed just Rs 2,000 (about $25). They even keep the lens itself at a low cost.
In April 2025, his team hiked 4,300 meters during the Shey Festival into the remote Dolpo area of Nepal. Fighting tough conditions, such as landslides and icy winds, they set up temporary operating rooms. There, they screened 1,200 villagers and performed 98 cataract surgeries. Dr. Rut shared that the smile on grandmother’s face made all the challenges worth it after she met her grandson again.
Dr. Ruit has developed a special technology called Seamless Small Cataract Surgery (SICS), which is fast, affordable and as effective as surgery in a modern hospital for wealthy people.
His journey began with Olangchungola, a small village near the Tibet border. After he lost his sister's untreated tuberculosis at the age of 17, he made a promise to himself that no one would suffer because of their poverty.
In the 1980s, he was guided by Australian ophthalmologist Fred Hollows. Together, they conducted an eye care survey in Nepal and later established the Tirgonga Institute in 1994. After Hollows was approved in 1993, Dr. Ruit continued his mission and co-founded the Himalayan Cataract Project with American doctor Geoffrey Tabin. Today, their model follows in more than 20 countries including Cambodia, Ethiopia, Ghana and Rwanda.
Due to his hard work, in Africa alone, more than 50,000 people regain their vision each year. Dr. Ruit's story shows that with courage and compassion, one person can truly change the world at one time – one pair of eyes at a time.
