Phone : +91 22 2201 2224 Mail : info@gankoindia.com

Outreach

CSR INITIATIVES

The history of Ganko’s initiatives to give back to society is almost as deep-rooted as our commitment to quality and service.

Decades ago, before the concept of CSR was even thought about, Chandubhai Kothari, fully supported by JM Kothari introduced the idea of social responsibility into the operations of the company. He was a follower of Mahatma Gandhi who

  • Visited nearby villages around Calcutta to organise eye camps from the 1940s
  • Supported the establishment of eye hospitals across the state, many of which are still operational
  • Donated 40% of his income to charity.

During the last decade of his life, he fulfilled a cherished dream by establishing the Ganko Eye Hospital in his home town in Limbdi, Gujarat.

Ganko’s key ongoing projects on the social front include:

JM Kothari Trust

Set up by The Kothari Family, as a tribute to the founder and driving force behind Ganko, JM Kothari. The trust was

  • Was one of the first to extend support to efforts to develop trained optometrists around the country at a time when there was a crying need for qualified and competent personnel in the field.
  • Provides financial and other support to enable youth from underprivileged backgrounds complete their training and emerge as qualified eye ‘physicians’ capable of testing and advising people on basic eye care. Over 500 students have benefited from such support.
  • Conducts and supports basic eye-camps in different parts of the country where lakhs of patients have been screened.

Ganko Eye Hospital

The hospital was incorporated in Mundra Township of Limbdi in 2003, thus giving concrete shape to the vision of the Kothari brothers.

The current trustees are Dilip Kothari and Kirit Kothari.

The activities conducted by the hospital are:

  • Eye testing and eye check up
  • Cataract operations
  • Glaucoma operations
  • Eye camps
  • Awareness about eye-related diseases

The hospital offers regular medicines, eye drops and optical frames to persons from underprivileged backgrounds either free or at cost price only, helping them reap the advantages of modern eye care.

Lotus Eye Hospital / Lotus College of Optometry

Ganko works closely with the Lotus Eye Hospital in Juhu, Mumbai as well as its sister institution, the Lotus College of Optometry.

Bhavin Kothari, CEO of Ganko is a member of the Optometric Education Society which runs the Lotus College of Optometry. The Kothari Family is one of the founders of this Society.

The College runs four year degree (B.Optom) and two year PG (M.Optom) programmes in Optometry, developed in association with the Maharashtra Vocational Training Board. A few students from orphanages / shelter homes are enrolled each year in the courses, and helped with placements to enable them to develop their careers and become financially independent.

Ganko is involved in the following broad areas:

Sponsorships:

Ganko subsidizes fees for needy children to support their training and helps them find employment within the industry. We also work closely with the HR Department to identify those in need of scholarships/fee subsidy, etc.

Awareness campaigns:

Ganko supported the Mumbai EyeCare Campaign – 2009 to 2013 – to spread awareness about eye care, prevention and treatment of eye diseases and continues to help the institution in ongoing projects in this field.

Training:

Ganko helps organise a Design Competition for students of the college to create new concepts and designs for frames.

Subsidies:

Ganko offers frames to hospitals at a very nominal cost, including complete subsidy for the extremely deserving, benefitting a number of needy patients. We also run a Paediatric project with NGOs – where kids from underprivileged backgrounds receive free or subsidised frames.