During September, Aly will be visiting our project countries to meet with our international team and participate in 30 days of jam-packed activities, including inaugurating a vision centre, visiting an avoidable blindness-free village, touring some of our partner hospitals and participating in meetings with our staff, partners and eye health colleagues.

With so much ahead, we’re eager to follow Aly’s travels on social media, as he’ll be tweeting live updates when he can. Follow him on Twitter to stay up-to-date!

Aly will be representing our Canadian team and donors during his travels. “This trip is an opportunity for me to communicate the gratitude of our Calgary team and all our donors to our international teams for the work they do,” he says. “And also to connect our Calgary team with our international teams and strengthen the bonds between us.”

But this trip won’t just be business for Aly. “On a personal level, I’m representing my family. This is a chance for my parents and grandparents to give back to our home country through me. I haven’t been back to East Africa since moving to Edmonton with my family as refugees when I was two years old.” Aly says he’ll be carrying his family history with him as he sets foot on home soil for the first time in years, and it will be an emotional return for him.

We asked Aly what he hopes to leave behind and what he hopes to bring back to Canada…

“What I hope to leave with our international teams is a connection to me, to our Calgary office, so they know that we’re more than just distant names and titles. There’s a fire we share, and we can relate to each other through our mutual passion. 

What I hope to gain and bring back is the ability to absorb my experience and harness it as motivation for myself and for our Calgary office, our supporters and volunteers. I want to inspire them, so they know that together we can achieve more – do more to make our mission to eliminate avoidable blindness a reality.”

Aly is looking forward to seeing our work first-hand for the first time.

“I’ll be experiencing the outcomes of the work we do, seeing the results of our team’s hard work and dedication, and seeing the work that our donors have made possible. I want to empower our international staff, and I hope to let them know that they have my full support to continue doing the work they’re doing.

I also want to build new partnerships and strengthen existing partnerships. I want to let the world know that Operation Eyesight is making serious strides towards accomplishing our mission. And to do that, I’m going to challenge our stakeholders – our allies, volunteers, donors – to rally behind us and scale up with us, so we can reach more people in need and make an even greater impact.”

Is this outside of Aly’s comfort zone? He says that yes, it absolutely is – but that’s just how he wants it.

“I want to get a little uncomfortable. I grew up with a western perspective, so at times I’m going to be uncomfortable with what I see and hear and smell. It will all be unfamiliar and different. Communicating will be difficult, which means I’m going to be vulnerable. It will be an emotional time, and I need to be okay with that.”

We wish Aly all the best on his travels. There will be so much we can learn from his experience, and we’re all looking forward to hearing his stories and sharing them with you, our supporters.

Stay tuned to our blog and social media for more updates from Aly throughout September. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter so you don’t miss an update.

The post Aly’s emotional journey begins appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

Simon is a 67-year-old man who lives with his wife, children and grandchildren in a small village in Trans Nzoia County, Kenya. He has lived there all his life and has a mud-walled house with rusty iron sheet roofing.

Simon, and his wife, Gladys, have nine children, ranging from 41 to 15 years old. While Gladys takes care of the home, Simon has eked out a living as a tailor. He does a little farming on the side and has one cow to help provide for his family.

Simon’s tailoring business does well, as his clients are usually families that need school uniforms for their children, and Christmas is always a busy time when people want new clothes for the holidays.

But two years ago, Simon’s vision started to fade, and he had no idea why!

Eventually, he could no longer do his tailoring job, and while at home, he couldn’t see to farm or care for his cow.

“I missed sitting down with my children to help them with their homework. And now I can’t even tell which of my children is sitting next to me,” he said, with deep sadness.  

Being the sole breadwinner, Simon’s blindness robbed his family of their livelihood and drove them deeper into poverty.

“I became so dependent I even needed guiding to the latrine. I felt so sad. I thought, how can it be that I’ve gone blind, yet I’m still strong and healthy? I worried I would one day fall in the pit of the latrine, or drown in the nearby river while trying to get by on my own.”

Simon has a strong relationship with his family, and he’s become the peacekeeper for his loved ones.

“I usually act as a peacekeeper for my family when they disagree. I worried that they would be divided if I died and left them on their own.”

Without his sight, Simon had no hope for his future, and he feared for the well-being of his family. What could he do?

“I thought the future was bleak and without any flavour. How was I to live in darkness, having spent my entire life with good vision, doing my work and going wherever I pleased?” 

One day, Simon’s son-in-law met a community health worker named Bernard. Bernard was a former patient who received sight-restoring cataract surgery, and ever since, he has been inspired to help others in his community who suffer from avoidable blindness! Through his commitment, many people have already been helped.

Simon’s son-in-law told Bernard about Simon’s condition. Soon, the two men set out one morning to Simon’s home where Bernard identified Simon’s problem to be cataracts. Simon could barely believe his ears when Bernard told him that he could be treated free of cost at our partner hospital, the Kitale Eye Unit!

“All previous herbal remedies I tried failed, so I was a little anxious at first that nothing would restore my vision. But I started becoming confident about the treatment when Bernard encouraged me with his own story of regaining his sight after the same treatment.” 

And then Simon’s life was changed! He received cataract surgery on both eyes at Kitale Eye Unit – free of charge to him or his family, thanks to the incredible support of people like you!

Now Simon is extremely happy, and he’s picked up right where he left off.

“I’m excited! I want to get back to work because there will be a lot of business to catch up with. I will be able to provide for my family again and my child who’s been taking care of me can go back to school.”

Simon has gone back to his tailoring business and has a very positive outlook about the future.

“I can continue to help my family and my neighbours by acting as the peacekeeper, and I can provide for my grandchildren again! I pray that God bless the people in Canada who helped me with long lives so they can help more people like me. My life has changed forever, and my family and I are forever grateful!”

Can you believe it? Your support changed not only Simon’s life, but his family’s lives! That’s incredible, and we hope you know just how much your support means to the people you help. There are others like Simon who are needlessly living in darkness, and you can help them! Please consider donating to our cataract surgery program to give the Gift of Sight to more people in need!

The post A life turned right-side up – thanks to you! appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

Villagers would journey more than three hours to collect water from unprotected, shallow wells dug in the riverbed. Children, mostly girls, would bring containers with them to school so they could fetch water on their long seven-kilometre trek back home.

This labourious process to collect water came to an end in 2010, when Operation Eyesight developed a borehole in Ichangipusi village to help in the fight against trachoma, a painful but preventable eye disease that causes blindness.

It is incredible to see the impact that one borehole can have on an entire village! Our donors truly are making a difference in the lives of others. Thank you! To learn more about Operation Eyesight’s trachoma projects in Narok, visit our website.

The post Water project brings life to Kenyan village appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

“It was hell” is how Thomas Chakalela describes his life after losing his vision to cataracts.

It was bad enough when complications from diabetes resulted in the amputation of his left leg. But things got worse for the Zambian farmer when, shortly after the amputation, he gradually lost his vision. He was forced to retire from the farm he’d worked for ten years and unable to perform even the simplest of daily activities.

To Thomas, his future seemed blank. His wife could not do anything other than help care for him, and his blindness affected his work, his business and his family. He thought he would never see again.

Because of Operation Eyesight’s generous donors, that did not prove to be the case! When attending Chongwe District Hospital for physiotherapy, a nurse there diagnosed his cataracts and referred him to the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) eye clinic, located in Zambia’s capital Lusaka, about 64 kilometres away from Thomas’ home. The hospital has been a valued Operation Eyesight partner since 2004.

Now Thomas has had both his cataracts removed, and his life no longer seems so bleak. “I feel like I was born today!” he told our staff. Now Thomas has his independence back, is again running his farm, and also helps pay for local orphans to attend school.

For the staff at UTH, Thomas has high praise. “They did a tremendous job. The doctor is marvelous.” And to the Canadians and other donors who made his surgery possible? “I am grateful,” he says. “Please keep supporting people like me. May the good Lord add more years to your life so that you may live longer to see the many people you are helping!”

Although many people without diabetes get cataracts, it’s estimated that people with diabetes are 60 percent more likely to develop them. People with diabetes are also most likely to get cataracts at a younger age, and have them progress faster. The cause for this isn’t yet known, but regular eye exams are the best way to diagnose cataracts and other problems. Be sure to get your eyes tested regularly!

The post “May you live longer to see the many people you are helping!” appeared first on Operation Eyesight.