Whenever Vettiyadan Vincent closes his grocery shop in a hurry,shopkeepers in the neighbourhood are not surprised. They know it only means two things. One,that someone has died in Chalakkudy. Second,that Vincent has gone to ensure that the dead persons eyes are donated. For the last five years,47-year-old Vincent,who has studied only up to class X,has been visiting mourning families in his town in Thrissur,persuading them to donate the eyes of their loved ones. He has helped harvest cornea from 64 cadavers and helped nearly 120 people with their vision. Vincents desire to help the blind see is rooted in his personal story. My grandfather lost his sight when he was 60. As he groped in the darkness,I helped him move around the house or cross the road. Often he would cry about the darkness that had fallen over him, remembers Vincent. From then on,whenever an eye donation camp or meet was organised in his town,Vincent would attend it. Then,ten years ago,when his sister Mercy died at 23 after being ill for several years,Vincent decided that charity should begin at home. As my sisters eyes were fit for donation,I talked to my parents and siblings about it. After much persuasion,my family agreed. Then later,when a neighbour died,I convinced his family to donate his eyes too, says Vincent. Vincent donated his sisters and his neighbours eyes to the eye bank at Little Flower Hospital,Ankamaly,15 km away from Chalakkudy. Slowly,news about his mission spread in his town and beyond. Whenever someone dies,people connected with religious institutions are the first to know and they in turn would inform me. In the case of Christians,the local parish informs me. In the case of Hindus,Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogna,a Hindu outfit,tells me about deaths in their community, says Vincent. He then visits the mourning family. Even when I am busy in the shop and someone tells me about a death,I close the shop and visit the mourning family. But before that,I always visit their neighbours and try and find out more about the person who has died,whether his or her cornea is fit for grafting or not. Only after winning the confidence of the neighbours and relatives,do I approach the immediate family, he explains. If the family gives their consent in writing,Vincent informs the eye bank at Little Flower Hospital. A team of trained staff from the eye bank then visits the house of the dead,with Vincent on a bike showing them the way. The team usually takes half-an-hour to remove the cornea from the body. But Vincents mission has not always been successful. There have been instances when he has failed to convince people to donate the eyes of their relatives. But,he says,that will not deter him from his mission to bring light to where there is darkness.
