Lucy Mathen’s Followers (1)

Lucy’s Bookshelves

to-read (0)
currently-reading (1)
read (1)
did-not-finish (0)

Lucy’s Friends (3)

Caroline Hand

1 book | 1 friend

Francisca

2 books | 1 friend

Sheila

2 books | 1 friend

Lucy Mathen

Goodreads Author

Born

in Mumbai, India, India

Website

https://www.secondsight.org.uk

Genre

Nonfiction

Member Since

October 2020

edit data

Lucy Mathen is an Indian-born British ophthalmologist and former journalist - the first female Asian national news reporter on BBC TV.
In 1988, after 16 years as a journalist and whilst making a documentary about women in Afghanistan, she had a Damascene moment. She decided to change career from journalism to Medicine. She went on to found the small NGO Second Sight which restores sight to blind women men and children in rural north India. Lucy's years in journalism had given her insight into the harm that can be done by a Lords of Poverty approach to humanitarian aid. She therefore determinedly took the NGO down an idiosyncratic path. This resulted in bruising encounters with bureaucrats, churchmen and politicos used to their dogma being ac ...more

Learn more
Ask the Author

To ask Lucy Mathen questions, please sign up.

Popular Answered Questions

Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

Lucy Mathen In the year 2000, I was given a book written by the journalist Graham Hancock.
Lords of Poverty was a damning critique of big and wasteful projects ca…moreIn the year 2000, I was given a book written by the journalist Graham Hancock.
Lords of Poverty was a damning critique of big and wasteful projects carried out in the name of “Development,” which provided “jobs for the boys” and created a culture of dependency in poor countries. Hancock knew that, for the reign of the Lords of Poverty to end, we needed alternatives. He yearned for “local-level initiatives, relevant and realistic strategies, and the energy and enterprise of the poor to be allowed to flourish.
Almost two decades later I realised that Hancock's wish had come true in rural Bihar, India. And that I happened to be part of it. It was a joyous and rich tapestry of achievement, a low profile movement involving many remarkable rural Indians, egalitarian at its heart and laughter its coinage.
It was time to shift the spotlight of Development from the manicured Global Poverty Conference Circuit to the muddy fields of Bihar and to the sometimes ragged, certainly motley crew who are removing blindness and ameliorating poverty with great good humour.
I like to think that the book is Dervla Muprhy meets Han Suyin - my favourite authors. The latter cannot be asked for her opinion but the former is a good friend and pronounced the book 'truly outstanding'. https://www.secondsight.org.uk/outgro...
(less)

flag

1 like · like
Comment

See 1 answer from Lucy Mathen…

Combine Editions
Lucy Mathen’s books

Average rating: 4.73 · 11 ratings · 6 reviews · 3 distinct works

	Outgrowing the Big 4.50 avg rating — 6 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Runaway Goat: Curing Blindness in Forgotten India it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 5 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Outgrowing the Big 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars