When Anushri Wagner decided to attend a Netraprakash eye camp in India in 1996, she had never heard of The PRASAD Project. She was 21 years old and in her third year of medical school in New Zealand. Anushri arrived in India a month before the January eye camp. She was amazed by how well people worked together throughout the preparation for and implementation of the camp.

Upon learning that volunteers would have to screen 5,000 patients over just two days, Anushri was incredulous. "How could they do it with so many patients, not enough staff, and a limited organizational structure?" she wondered. By 6 a.m. on the first hazy morning, more than 100 patients stood waiting outside the tent. One patient came in, and then the next and the next, and soon they flowed like a stream through the screening process. When all the elements had come together, Anushri recognized that the day had been permeated with grace.

On her return to New Zealand Anushri vowed to return to India, and after graduating from medical school, she went back to Ganeshpuri to participate in the 1999 eye camp. "Ever since I attended my first eye camp, my reason for becoming a doctor was to be a doctor for PRASAD," she said.

Anushri has returned to India every year since 1996, and currently serves as a liaison for Indian friends of PRASAD. She is especially interested in hearing from non-resident Indians who would like to share Prasad Chiktsa's work with their local Indian communities. Please email her for more information: nanandaraja@hotmail.com.

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Dr. Sukhala Hamilton is a long-time PRASAD supporter and family physician who lives in Boulder, Colorado, with her husband, Mark Sherman, and daughter, Grace. Sukhala worked on The PRASAD Project's Muktananda Mobile Hospital in India in 1987, when she was a third-year medical student.

Eight years later, Sukhala became the coordinator of the Rocky Mountain Region, the first satellite PRASAD team. The Rocky Mountain Friends of PRASAD have held numerous fundraising events for PRASAD.

On Christmas Eve, 2000, Sukhala and Mark returned from India with Grace Shanti, their newly adopted daughter. Although life has changed with the arrival of their child, Sukhala and Mark still find extraordinary ways to contribute to PRASAD. For example, at a blessings ceremony for Grace, the parents asked that gifts be given in the form of donations to PRASAD.

Sukhala's latest endeavor is a collection of 50 poems entitled, "In the Presence of Grace." She began writing these poems in 2000, during the adoption process, and now a limited edition of the book is being printed and handsewn in Boulder. The books will be available this month, and all proceeds will be donated to The PRASAD Project. For more information on how to purchase a copy, please email Sukhala at: drsukha@nilenet.com.

Sukhala and Mark have such strong dedication to PRASAD, and are constantly creating inspiring ways to support it. Sukhala says: "PRASAD is love in action and is always in our hearts…I intend to be committed to PRASAD all of my life."