Village on a mission to spread vision

FOR its first-time visitors, the village of Madathattuvilai in Kanniyakumari district, nestled quietly along the road from Nagercoil to Thiruvananthapuram, is like any other modest hamlet of Tamil Nadu, surrounded by lush landscape and occupied by humble homes.

- M ABDUL RABI

But each unassuming house in the village hides a peculiar story of how a community came together to turn one's loss into another one's hope, through or gan donation, particularly eye donation.

For the villagers, the act of eye donation is not just a practice but a pre-funeral ritual. In fact, it has turned into a deeply ingrained tradition that binds the hearts of people. At least one person from a majority of the households in Madathattuvilai has donated their eyes. Since 2007, a total of 367 pairs of eyes from deceased residents of this village have been donated, providing sight to those in need.

While talking about Madathattuvilai and its people's noble service, it's impossible not to mention St Sebastian Church, located in the heart of the village. Other than being a religious institution, the church and its youth club are the important social centres of the locality.