Combat Blindness International Receives $75,000 Grant from Madison Community Foundation’s Jaya G. Iyer Endowment Fund to Support the Aadya Initiative

[Madison, Wisconsin] – Combat Blindness International (CBI) is proud to announce that it has been awarded a $75,000 grant from the Jaya G. Iyer Endowment Fund at Madison Community Foundation (MCF) to support the Aadya Initiative. 

The Aadya Initiative focuses on women's empowerment and workforce development through community-based eye care in rural India. The program trains women to become door-to-door vision screeners using mobile technology, providing near-vision glasses on the spot, and referring patients in need of further treatment to local vision centers. This workforce model enables decentralized mass vision screening, providing access to high-quality eye care in remote areas.

With this grant, CBI will support 100 Aadya screeners in the 3 rural catchment areas of Saharanpur, Vrindavan, and Modi Nagar in Northern India in 2025. These women will not only deliver critical vision services in their communities but also gain skills, income, and the confidence to become leaders and role models in their villages.

“The Aadya Initiative exemplifies what’s possible when women are empowered to lead,” said Reena Chandra, MPH, Executive Director of CBI. “With the support of Madison Community Foundation, we are breaking barriers to eye care while building pathways to education, employment, and independence for women in rural India.”

The Jaya G. Iyer Endowment Fund supports projects that empower women and promote workforce development, aligning closely with CBI's goals.

“MCF is happy to be able to support Combat Blindness and the Aadya Initiative with this grant from the Jaya G. Iyer Endowment Fund,” said Angela Davis, Director of Grantmaking at MCF. “The Aadya Initiative improves the lives of so many people in rural India, not only by helping correct vision problems but also by empowering women in those communities through training to provide this care.”

Since its founding in 1984, CBI has screened more than 5.87 million people and provided over 450,000 sight-restoring eye surgeries across 19 countries. Through programs like the Aadya Initiative, CBI is working to eliminate preventable blindness and create a future where access to vision care is a reality for all.