Builders: Bringing Sight to the Blind 

Nehemiah 4:9, 19-20 

When thinking about the theme of “builders” my thoughts go to the account in Nehemiah that describes the necessity of re-building of the broken walls of Jerusalem. The call was to both pray and work (Nehemiah 4:9). Many heeded his call and did just that, creating walls that allowed for the safe return of countless citizens, wanderers, and refugees. There are many kinds of legacies, and a legacy of Nehemiah was through brick and mortar. 

The early pioneers of Canadian Baptist mission work, particularly in India and Bolivia, but also in Angola and beyond, have been builders as well. There are countless legacies of such sacrificial service, many being the formation of physical structures necessary to carry out ministry. And in this brief reflection I would like to draw our attention to just one such legacy – that of the establishment of the ArogyaVaram Eye Hospital in India. 

Canadian Baptist missionaries began their work in India in 1867. Very quickly it was recognized that the medical needs of India’s poor and lower caste members were great, and not long after their arrival the missionary mandate began to include the establishment of itinerant doctors and nurses, as well as the building of medical clinics followed by actual hospitals. 

The history of the ArogyaVaram Eye Hospital can be traced back to the vision of Martha Clark and Zella Clark, two sisters from Prince Edward Island who were Canadian Baptist missionaries. In 1911, they arrived in Sompeta, India, and began the traditional missionary work of evangelism. However, the lack of any medical facilities for thirty miles in every direction meant that Zella, a medical doctor, very soon began taking care of pressing medical needs. 

The Clarke sister’s labour laid the foundation for the work of Canadian medical doctor R. Ben Gullison and his wife Evlyn – also both passionate and capable leaders. They arrived in Sompeta in 1935. Their work initially was evangelism, but very quickly they saw the need for an expanded medical facility. The needs were so great that by the 1930s there were tents being set up for overflow. Something more permanent and hygienic needed to be established. 

A new facility was opened in 1939 and was named ArogyaVaram, a composite of two sanscrit words: “Arogya” meaning health restored and “Varam” meaning God’s gift. In the coming years the hospital decided to focus solely on the restoration of sight to the blind, carrying out thousands of cataract surgeries for those otherwise doomed to a life of darkness and destitution, as well as surgery for other eye ailments.  

Upon the Gullison’s return to Canada in 1962, Dr. Gullison helped to build Operation Eyesight, now a global organization committed to vision care. 

The decades since the hospital’s inception were marked by the growth of the facility, the arrival of new doctors and nurses, the travails of war and threat of Japanese invasion, uncertainty surrounding Indian independence, rising costs, funding issues, new building projects, and questions over the emphasis on evangelism or medical care.  

The hospital weathered the storms, and today it remains as a vital legacy to the work of faithful men and women from Canada and India who not only prayed about the needs of the suffering but also worked to see that something was done about it. In that regard, they were builders. And, as a result, thousands of people today not only receive physical sight, but also get a very tangible witness that testifies to the love of the Son, the One who can also give spiritual sight.  

[This reflection draws from the book William H. Jones, The Eye Openers: The Story of Operation Eyesight at the ArogyaVaram Eye Hospital (1977). A copy is held in the Canadian Baptist Archives.]