Meet man from small Himalayan village, who lost his sister at 17 due to no treatment, has now restored sight of 100000 poor patients for free, he is...

In a quiet Himalayan village where roads fade into clouds and healthcare is almost non-existent, one man chose to change lives with just his skills, compassion, and a pair of steady hands. Meet Dr Sanduk Ruit, the Nepalese eye surgeon who has restored sight to more than 100,000 people—most of them completely free of cost. In January 2025, his extraordinary work finally gained global recognition when he received Bahrain’s prestigious Isa Award for Service to Humanity.

Known to many as the "God of Sight," Dr Ruit 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 around Rs 2.5 lakh (or USD 3,000) in Western countries, Dr Ruit and his team perform it for just Rs 2,000 (about USD 25). They even make the lenses themselves to keep costs low.

In April 2025, his team trekked over 4,300 meters high into Nepal’s remote Dolpo region during the Shey Festival. Battling tough conditions like landslides and icy winds, they set up makeshift operating rooms. There, they screened 1,200 villagers and carried out 98 cataract surgeries. Dr Ruit shared that the smile on a grandmother’s face after seeing her grandchild again makes all the challenges worth it.

Dr Ruit developed a special technique called sutureless small-incision cataract surgery (SICS), which is quick, affordable, and just as effective as surgeries done in modern hospitals in rich countries.

His journey began in the small village of Olangchungola near the Tibet border. After losing his sister to untreated tuberculosis when he was just 17, he made a promise to himself: no one should suffer just because they’re poor.

He was mentored by Australian eye specialist Fred Hollows in the 1980s. Together, they conducted eye care surveys in Nepal and later started the Tilganga Institute in 1994. After Hollows’ passing in 1993, Dr Ruit carried forward the mission and co-founded the Himalayan Cataract Project with American doctor Geoffrey Tabin. Today, their model is followed in over 20 countries, including Cambodia, Ethiopia, Ghana, and Rwanda.

Thanks to his hard work, over 50,000 people in Africa alone regain their vision every year. Dr Ruit’s story shows that with courage and compassion, one person can truly change the world—one pair of eyes at a time.