His hope returned when a community health worker visited his home. Sriramappa took part in eye screening and was diagnosed with cataracts. Referred to our partner, Netradeep Eye Hospital (Globe Eye Foundation), Sririmappa accessed sight-restoring surgery free of charge.

Sriramappa expressed his gratitude to our donors. He is now enjoying life’s simple pleasures, especially roaming the forest with his animals, which helps to support his family.

Did you know?

There is a strong correlation between vision loss and age. People who are 50 years of age and older experience 73 per cent of all vision loss according to the IAPB Vision Atlas (2025). This puts people at risk of poverty, dependence and reduced health and well-being. At times, beliefs that vision loss is inevitable or that older people are not worthy of treatment can be barriers to overcome

Fortunately, 90 per cent of all vision loss is avoidable. This means it can be prevented or treated. Of all the treatments, cataract surgery is one of the most cost-effective solutions.

Learn more about how you can support sight-saving work here.

The post Community outreach leads to sight-saving cataract surgery appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

Surajkali is 65 and from India. She lives in Rurwahar Village in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Her husband is a farmer while she manages their home. Two years ago, her eyesight began to fail. Eventually, she couldn’t see at all. Her grandson, Suraj, had to guide her around her home, to the store and even to the toilet.

Poor Surajkali! She could no longer do her chores and tasks, and poor Suraj, who had to drop out of school to care for his Grandmother. Surajkali needed him so constantly that he couldn’t play with his friends. Imagine how sad they both must have felt.

Luckily, Surajkali was visited by a community health worker. Going doorto-door, the worker was one of many workers trained under Operation Eyesight’s Community Eye Health model. In Kanpur, this is in partnership with Dr. Jawahar Lal Rohatgi Eye Hospital.

The community health worker identified Surajkali’s blindness as cataract. Surajkali had never heard of this condition. She’d feared she’d be blind forever. The worker advised Surajkali to seek surgery.

The cataract in both of Surajkali’s eyes were soon removed. Now she can see again, thanks to our amazing supporters! She has her independence back and can do her daily tasks. Meanwhile, Suraj has returned to school. He’s happy that he can go out and play with his friends, something every child should be able to do. What’s more, with an education, Suraj has hope for a brighter future. Imagine their joy!

Both Surajkali and Suraj have happy endings thanks to our supporters! We couldn’t do our work without their generosity. From us and everyone our supporters are helping, we say a giant THANK YOU!

The post Her blindness was destroying two lives… appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

Maya suffered with cataracts for a year, to the point that she was forced to stop doing the things she loved, like making garlands in her free time and spending time with her family. Eventually, she was forced to stop working too.

This wasn’t just difficult for Maya. Her whole family works as daily wage labourers on a farm in a small village in Lalitpur, Nepal.

Living with her husband, son, daughter-in-law and young grandson means that every day is a struggle to put food on the table. The family depends on each other’s wages to afford their living. So when one family member becomes disabled, the whole family suffers from the loss.

Months before, Maya had been diagnosed with cataract and referred for surgery at the nearest hospital, but Maya was afraid. “I was scared because I thought it would hurt,” says Maya. She was also worried about the cost, and though she was told that she needed surgery, she didn’t go through with it. “I didn’t tell my son or daughter-in-law about my eyes because I knew they couldn’t afford it.”

But she couldn’t ignore her need forever. Maya was bumping into things, and she needed help just to perform basic tasks at home.

It got so bad that one day she couldn’t even recognize the faces of her friends and family anymore. Unable to do the things she loved, or see her family’s faces, Maya grew more and more sad by the day.

“I was fearful that I would have to live a dark life, being a burden on my family,” says the 76-year-old woman. “But I didn’t think anything could be done to help me since I was already so far along in years.”

Then a few months later a knock came on Maya’s door that would change her life!

Two community health workers trained by Operation Eyesight stood at Maya’s doorstep. They screened her eyes, and immediately referred her to our partner, the Nepal Eye Hospital, for treatment at no cost to her and her family. With the financial barrier out of the way, Maya decided to face her fear and underwent sight-restoring cataract surgery!

Now that she can see, she’s thrilled to be back at work, and she can see the faces of her friends and family again. “I’m so happy now I can contribute to my family and make my garlands again.” Maya says joyfully. “And even better, I am so happy to have my sight back so one day I can watch my grandson get married. Even though I was scared before, now I tell everyone to go have their eyes checked.”

“Now I can see my family living happily, not having to worry about me anymore, and I am so grateful. I want to thank to doctors for painless surgical treatment and restoring my vision. I want to thank the community health worker from the bottom of my heart, and thank you so much to the generous donors who made it possible for community health workers to reach me and refer me for treatment!”

It’s thanks to incredible people like you that Maya was helped. But there are thousands more people like Maya who need access to quality eye health care. Please consider making a donation today and help us give the Gift of Sight to many more – For All The World To See!

The post A woman’s wish to see her family happy comes true! appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

Today we want to tell you the story of Jay, a 60-year-old man living in Lalitpur, Nepal with his wife and children. Jay and his family are poor, and they live in a small cottage. He does some farming and he owns a small shop.

Over time, Jay’s vision started to fade. He and his family didn’t know what to do because they didn’t think his condition could be treated. Jay’s family wanted to help him, but they couldn’t afford the treatment. What’s more, the nearest hospital was 12 km away, and he had no vehicle to get there.

“I was unable to do my daily activities. I couldn’t even recognize my friends and family anymore.” 

Because Jay was the breadwinner of the family, losing his sight not only made it impossible for him to do the work he needed to do, it also affected the household income.

With his vision deteriorating, and his income with it, he didn’t know what to do. What would happen if he couldn’t provide for his family?

One day, a community health worker trained by Operation Eyesight was doing a door-to-door survey and came to Jay’s cottage. The health worker screened the family for their eye health, and diagnosed Jay’s condition on the spot. He had cataract in both eyes! When the health worker told Jay that his condition was treatable, he could barely believe it.

“Finding out that I could be cured was awful! I knew my family couldn’t afford treatment. We didn’t have the money to pay.”

But thanks to the incredible generosity of people like you, Jay was treated at Operation Eyesight’s partner, the Nepal Eye Hospital, free of cost to him and his family!

Now, Jay can see again… and with his vision restored, he’s become independent and able to do his daily work. He’s even started a small teashop!

“Without the support of the health worker, we wouldn’t have known that I could be treated. We used to think that my vision loss was because I was getting on in age, and I didn’t think I would ever see again.” 

Jay is so grateful for the help he received. Now he knows he can support his family financially and emotionally.

“I am feeling better now that I can see things clearly. It feels like I’ve been born again!” 

Generous donors like YOU made this possible. Your support helped turn Jay’s life around. And Jay can’t say thank you enough.

“I’m very thankful to the community health worker and the eye hospital for everything they did for me throughout my treatment, and I want to thank the donors who made it possible for me to be treated!”

Your support means the world to people like Jay, but there are thousands of others like him who still need your help. Please consider donating to our cataract surgery program to give more people the Gift of Sight and hope for a brighter future!

The post Sight restored is like being born again appeared first on Operation Eyesight.