Seva Canada
Vancouver 49° 15' 39.14" N, 123° 6' 50.23" W Group charitable organization
Seva Canada was incorporated in Vancouver in 1982 at the impetus of Alan Morinis and Bev Spring. Alan and Bev knew the Brilliants from the smallpox eradication program in India and both were serving on the Board of Seva Foundation. They wanted to develop support for Seva’s work in Canada and engage Canadian government support and funding.
Seva Canada’s activities initially focused on providing a supporting role to the Foundation’s activities. Like the Seva Foundation, Seva Canada began to branch into areas other than sight and became involved in funding a street youth program and a literacy program in Vancouver. At a strategic planning meeting in 1999, Seva Canada decided to focus only on our area of greatest strength, the work to preserve and restore sight to those who need it most.
Seva Canada and Seva Foundation - sister organizations
In recent years, Seva Canada has developed its own program goals and objectives complementing those of the Seva Foundation, but which are also uniquely its own. Our particular focus is on community ophthalmology programs and the barriers women, children, the very poor, and those living in rural area face in trying to access eye care.
For many years Seva has worked with partners in India, Nepal, Tibet and Tanzania. In July 2008, three more countries were added to Seva Canada's sight programs: Guatemala, Cambodia and Egypt. These three country partners had been supported by our sister organization, Seva Foundation, for some time.