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The first Grameen Green Children Eye Hospital was opened on Monday, May 12, 2008, in Bogra by Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus and the Honorable Adviser in charge of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Dr AMM Shawkat Ali.

Two highly committed and talented young musicians, Ms. Milla Sunde from Norway and Mr. Tom Bevan from England of the band The Green Children raised $500,000 from donations and CD/DVD sales for this eye hospital in Bangladesh. They have committed to working to raise funds for another eye hospital that will require a total of about $1 million to complete. The Green Children visited Bangladesh in 2006 to film a music video for their song, Hear Me Now, which tells the story of a successful women borrower of Grameen Bank. This video has been used in fundraising for the eye hospitals and will receive a world wide release later this year.

The Grameen GC Eye Hospital will be structured as social business enterprise. The Hospital will charge patients based on their ability to pay, with wealthier clients charged at a normal rate and the poor at a subsidized rate. Everyone will receive the same high-quality treatment. While all patients will be expected to pay something, no one will be denied care.

Once the eye hospital is fully operational, it will work to become self-sustaining gradually and perform a projected 50,000 eye examinations and 10,000 cataract operations per year.

http://www.thegreenchildren.org/