Ruparelia Foundation Officially Launches Free Eye Camp in Bukedea to Honor Late Rajiv

The Ruparelia Foundation has launched a three-day free eye treatment camp in Bukedea District that will bring surgeons, fully equipped theatres and specialists directly to Eastern Uganda, as the family of the late Rajiv Ruparelia turns grief into community service. Speaker of Parliament Anita Among, who attended Tuesday’s launch at Kabira Country Club as chief guest, announced a contribution of Shs50 million toward the initiative.

The RR Eye Camp Bukedea will run from March 27 to 29 at Bukedea Teaching Hospital, where medical teams will screen at least 2,000 patients, carry out around 300 cataract surgeries and hand out more than 800 pairs of glasses free of charge to residents of Bukedea and the surrounding Teso Sub-Region. Fifty of those surgeries will be dedicated specifically to children.

The camp is organised in memory of Rajiv Ruparelia, who died in a road accident along Busabala Road in Kampala in May last year. He was the son of Foundation chairman Dr Sudhir Ruparelia, who was present at the launch alongside family members, medical professionals and sponsors.

Jyotsna Ruparelia, Rajiv’s mother and a director at the Ruparelia Group, told the gathering that the camp was Rajiv’s own idea, one he raised with her just weeks before his death. “He messaged me in March last year and said, ‘Mom, just fix the date for the eye camp and I will do the rest,'” she said. “Little did I know that I would be standing here today without him.”

She described her son as someone who needed no persuading when it came to helping others. “Rajiv believed deeply in giving back. He always encouraged us to do more for communities and never forget the responsibility we have to uplift others,” Jyotsna said. “Losing Rajiv is the greatest pain our family has ever experienced, but what gives us strength is continuing the work and the spirit of generosity he believed in.”

Dr Grace Ssali, an ophthalmologist from Mulago National Referral Hospital, told guests that the demand for eye care in the region is far greater than most people realise. Cataracts are the leading cause of blindness in Uganda, she explained, and treating them in a private hospital costs around Shs5 million per eye. During a previous outreach in Bukedea, her team screened over 6,000 people and found more than 200 who needed surgery but simply could not afford it.

“This time we are grateful that the Ruparelia Foundation and its partners are supporting the surgeries so that these patients can finally receive treatment,” Dr Ssali said.

The camp will go beyond cataracts. Doctors will screen patients for glaucoma, a condition that causes irreversible blindness when left undetected, and will carry out delicate surgeries on children whose vision can still be saved with early treatment. “If we delay, the blindness may become permanent,” Dr Ssali warned. Hundreds of prescription glasses will also be distributed to adults and children alike.

Uganda has one of the lowest ratios of eye specialists to population in the region, with most ophthalmologists concentrated in urban centres. By setting up surgical theatres on site at Bukedea Teaching Hospital rather than referring patients elsewhere, the foundation aims to remove the barriers of cost and distance that have kept treatment out of reach for so many.

Speaker Among, who described Rajiv as someone very dear to her, said the initiative deserves full support from local leadership. “As friends of Rajiv, we must keep his legacy alive,” she said, adding the backing of Bukedea Teaching Hospital and the Anita Foundation to her personal pledge.

Jyotsna closed with a message directed at the people the camp is designed to serve. “To the communities of Bukedea and surrounding districts, please come. Bring your children, bring your elders and bring your neighbours. These services are yours, freely given,” she said. “Rajiv always believed that the greatest success in life is measured not by what we achieve for ourselves, but by what we do for others.”