0:00:09 > 0:00:11Hello.
0:00:11 > 0:00:12How are you?
0:00:12 > 0:00:16Not suffering from cataracts or club foot or cleft palate?
0:00:16 > 0:00:17I hope not.
0:00:17 > 0:00:20Of course, if you were, get it fixed by the NHS.
0:00:20 > 0:00:22But, imagine living somewhere
0:00:22 > 0:00:25without access to medical care.
0:00:25 > 0:00:28Imagine you're living with a relatively minor disability that's
0:00:28 > 0:00:31completely ruining your life.
0:00:31 > 0:00:34You know there's a really simple solution, but you can't afford it.
0:00:34 > 0:00:38Well, let me introduce you to IMPACT Foundation,
0:00:38 > 0:00:41a brilliant charity, whose mission is to alleviate disability
0:00:41 > 0:00:43by some really extraordinary means.
0:00:47 > 0:00:49One of the countries where the charity operates is India.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56Like eight million other people in India, Manohar has cataracts,
0:00:56 > 0:00:58but he's too poor to get treatment,
0:00:58 > 0:01:00leaving the father of three almost blind.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28Manohar depended on his stall to support his family,
0:01:28 > 0:01:31so when his double cataracts forced him to give it up,
0:01:31 > 0:01:33saving for an operation became impossible.
0:02:11 > 0:02:14Manohar's story is frustratingly commonplace.
0:02:14 > 0:02:17Cataracts are a very simple problem to correct surgically,
0:02:17 > 0:02:18by replacing the lens.
0:02:21 > 0:02:22Thankfully, for Manohar,
0:02:22 > 0:02:25the IMPACT Foundation has come up with an ingenious
0:02:25 > 0:02:27way to reach people like him.
0:02:33 > 0:02:36The Lifeline Express is a hospital on wheels.
0:02:36 > 0:02:39A train that travels the length of India offering free surgery
0:02:39 > 0:02:41to reverse medical conditions that would otherwise mean
0:02:41 > 0:02:44a lifetime of disability.
0:02:44 > 0:02:48A vital service for the 300 million people living below the poverty line
0:02:48 > 0:02:49and unable to pay for an operation.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54I come whenever they call me.
0:02:54 > 0:02:58I really feel proud working as an eye surgeon in this train.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03This month, the train has come to Manohar's hometown of Gondiya.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09He's joined hundreds of others being screened for surgery.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23To date, the IMPACT Foundation has performed a staggering
0:03:23 > 0:03:28849,000 operations across the developing world.
0:03:31 > 0:03:33One of the families desperate for help are the parents of
0:03:33 > 0:03:35eight-month-old Prashansa.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51Prashansa's cleft palate has made it difficult for her to eat
0:03:51 > 0:03:53and maintain her weight,
0:03:53 > 0:03:57but her parents also worry about her future.
0:04:23 > 0:04:26Prashansa's parents have brought her to the Lifeline Express
0:04:26 > 0:04:28and she's going to be one of nine cleft-lip patients
0:04:28 > 0:04:30being operated on in a single day
0:04:30 > 0:04:32by plastic surgeon Vijay Kumar.
0:04:35 > 0:04:38The Lifeline Express is doing a great job,
0:04:38 > 0:04:42because it is going in such areas where doctors are not there.
0:04:42 > 0:04:43BABY CRIES
0:04:44 > 0:04:47Plastic surgeons like me come here and operate
0:04:47 > 0:04:49so they get good care and good surgery.
0:04:51 > 0:04:53Prashansa is put under general anaesthetic
0:04:53 > 0:04:55and surgery gets underway.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09After an hour, Dr Kumar is nearly finished.
0:05:11 > 0:05:13Now we have repaired the lip and the baby will smile
0:05:13 > 0:05:15and the lip will be OK.
0:05:15 > 0:05:16The parents should be happy.
0:05:18 > 0:05:21Prashansa will need further operations when she's older,
0:05:21 > 0:05:24but her cleft lip is well on the way to being corrected.
0:05:28 > 0:05:31It's the day of Manohar's cataract surgery.
0:05:31 > 0:05:34Dr Singh is getting ready to operate,
0:05:34 > 0:05:36and it's a hectic schedule.
0:05:36 > 0:05:38Within seven days,
0:05:38 > 0:05:42around 200 surgeries have been performed.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45Manohar's operation should take around ten minutes,
0:05:47 > 0:05:51but his cataract is dangerously attached to his lens.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54It takes all of Dr Singh's skill not to lose his eye completely.
0:05:55 > 0:05:59This cataract was really very complicated.
0:05:59 > 0:06:01It was tough to operate.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04And let's see what will be the result tomorrow.
0:06:07 > 0:06:09The following morning,
0:06:09 > 0:06:12Manohar is ready to discover if his sight has finally been restored.
0:07:00 > 0:07:02In the last month alone,
0:07:02 > 0:07:06the Lifeline Express has transformed the lives of over 5,000 people
0:07:06 > 0:07:08who were too poor to pay for treatment.
0:07:10 > 0:07:13And the IMPACT Foundation doesn't just operate in India.
0:07:13 > 0:07:17They have devised innovative ways of bringing life-changing surgery
0:07:17 > 0:07:19to the poor all over the world.
0:07:21 > 0:07:23People like Prashansa.
0:07:41 > 0:07:45The thing I like most about IMPACT Foundation is it's so simple.
0:07:45 > 0:07:47They take easily curable disabilities,
0:07:47 > 0:07:49like cataracts and cleft palate,
0:07:49 > 0:07:51and they fix them, on the spot,
0:07:51 > 0:07:54and this transforms people's lives.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58But of course, it all costs money.
0:07:59 > 0:08:04So, if you'd like to help transform someone's life who's suffering
0:08:04 > 0:08:07from a disability that's really easy to fix,
0:08:07 > 0:08:09then please, give now.
0:08:10 > 0:08:12And please be generous.
0:08:14 > 0:08:15Go on,
0:08:15 > 0:08:18put a nought on it.
0:08:18 > 0:08:20To donate online, please go to
0:08:20 > 0:08:23bbc.co.uk/lifeline
0:08:23 > 0:08:27To give by phone, call 0800 011 011.
0:08:27 > 0:08:29Calls are free from mobiles and landlines.
0:08:29 > 0:08:33You can also donate £10 by texting "Support" to 70121.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36Texts cost £10, plus your standard network message charge,
0:08:36 > 0:08:39and the whole £10 goes to IMPACT Foundation.
0:08:39 > 0:08:43Full terms and conditions can be found at bbc.co.uk/lifeline
0:08:43 > 0:08:46or, if you'd like to post a donation,
0:08:46 > 0:08:49please make your cheque payable to IMPACT Foundation and send it to
0:08:49 > 0:08:51Freepost BBC Lifeline Appeal,
0:08:51 > 0:08:53writing "IMPACT Foundation" on the back of the envelope.
0:08:53 > 0:08:56And if you want the charity to claim Gift Aid on your donation,
0:08:56 > 0:08:58please include an e-mail or postal address,
0:08:58 > 0:09:01so that they can send you a Gift Aid form.
0:09:01 > 0:09:03Thank you.