A kind-hearted Telford woman journeyed to India last month after spending years raising thousands of pounds for charity.
Sukhi Sahota, from Ketley, has been raising money for around three years at her local Sikh Gurdwara -Temple- in Hadley to help people in India have their eyes treated.
To raise money Sukhi set up her own club called Seva Marge Club, which loosely means ‘on the path of voluntary care of humanity’.
There are now around 160 people from Guru Nakak Gurdawra Hadley in the club. They each pay £1 to £5 each month, or whatever they can afford, to be a member.
This money 
puts towards her charity work.
For her most recent trip she managed to raise around £4,000 to give people the gift of sight.
Last month she journeyed to the Punjab, India, to donate the cash towards funding for cataract operations and other eye related diseases.
When she arrived she saw how the money she had raised was being used to help hundreds of people.
“This was my second trip to India,” she said. “My first trip was last Christmas when over 700 people had their eyes treated. This time it was around 450.
“I was delighted with the response I received from everyone who kindly donated money to help support this venture.
“Every penny I had collected went towards the treatment because I travelled to and around India at my own expense.”
When Sukhi arrived in India a temporary camp had been set up in a local village for people to have their eyes tested.
She said: “When I arrived people started to gather at the local school in a very rural village from early in the morning.
“The time and venue for the treatment was advertised or shouted by a local drummer in the surrounding villages for days.
“A local State - Punjab - Assembly Member conducted the opening ceremony and in his remarks he thanked the Telford Sikhs for their donations.
“If those who had had their eyes tested needed an operation to remove a cataract or other treatment they were taken to the main city hospital the very next day.
“The operation was done free of charge.”
Sukhi said while she was in India she spent time with the people who were having their eyes checked. She then went with them to hospital when they were operated on.
After the operations she took them home or organised transport for them.
Sukhi said her visit sparked interest with the local newspapers who arrived to document the event with photographs.
They also kept thanking her for coming all the way from Telford and remembering their plight.
She said: “The Assembly Member said that it was nice to know that people who have moved thousands of miles away to another country had not forgotten their humble roots.”
On her return to Telford Sukhi brought back flower garlands given to her as thank you gifts and many letters of thanks which she has read out to the congregation in Hadley.
“Some from India have sent letters of thanks which are now displayed on information board.
“The money has made such a difference to people’s lives in this small community in India.
“I would like thank the local Sikh community for their encouragement and trust and faith in me and for giving me this responsibility.”
President of Guru Nanak Gurdwara Hadley, Telford, Mr Parkash Singh Dhami said: “Sukhi is a tireless charity fund raiser, she is a great credit to our community and we are very proud of her.
“What she has planned in India is truly a mission of mercy.”
Sukhi’s fundraising project is ongoing and she hopes to go back again to India in the future.
If any one wishes to donate they can call Sukhi Sahota on 01952 613983 or can send a cheque made out to Seva Marge Club, 183 Woodside Road, Ketley,Telford, TF1 5WT.
by Chrissy Symmons