For many of us, our mothers are very special people in our lives. They raised us, loved us unconditionally and looked out for our best interests growing up. For many of us, that’s still true even as adults.

But did you know that in the countries we work in, mothers and their little girls are less likely to get the quality health care they need? This is because women’s health is considered secondary to the rest of the family. And the sad reality is that women are more likely to become blind because of this.

This Mother’s Day, we wanted to ask for your help to change that.

Priscilla lives in Majuli. She’s a dedicated community health worker who helps all the children, women and men in her community with the work she does. She has screened patients for eye health issues and referred them for the treatment they needed, regardless of whether they were men or women. Priscilla has worked hard to make sure everyone in her community receives the treatment they deserve.

Through her work, she was also able to support her family. Now her daughter, Jumi, has become a vision technician at one of our vision centres on the island! And Priscilla’s son was so inspired by his mother’s work with Operation Eyesight and our partner, the Chandraprabha Eye Hospital that he’s registered in their optometry school. This is one great example of the impact of the work made possible by people like you in the most vulnerable communities in the world: an entire family transformed and giving back to their communities! 

Remember Usha? She’s a single mother living in India who cares for two sons and a daughter all on her own. When she lost her sight to cataract, she was devastated. She didn’t know what she would do – She had no money, and she was afraid for herself and her children. She couldn’t distinguish the sugar from the salt in her kitchen anymore. What if her kids starved without her being able to cook for them? 

But the support of kind-hearted people like you turned Usha’s life around with the Gift of Sight! Usha received sight-saving cataract surgery which was free of cost to her and her family!

There are many other mothers like Priscilla and Usha who need your help. Your support today can mean a world of difference to women who desperately need eye care services in their communities.

Please consider donating this Mother’s Day. You could give a tribute gift in your mother’s name to honour her on her special day, and of you could make a donation and send her a beautiful personalized eCard if you like too! From all of us at Operation Eyesight, thank you for all that you do — For All The World To See!

The post Honour mom with a special gift this Mother’s Day 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.

Patients, dignitaries, eye health care staff and partners organizations joined the celebratory events for World Sight Day in Elgeyo Marakwet County, Kenya on October 12.

Kevin, along with classmates and other grateful patients participated in the first-ever World Sight Day celebrations where he lives in Elgeyo Marakwet County. The full day began with a 1.5 km walk from Iten Referral Hospital to the Iten playground. The Simbolei Academy school band led the way, accompanied by children from the Chepsigot School of visually impaired. The Chepsigot children entertained the audience with songs and poems about eye health.

After the walk, an eye screening and treatment camp was held that screened and treated 368 patients. Another 78 patients were referred to the eye unit for further examination. Guests heard patient testimonies and key speakers from Operation Eyesight’s many partners.

Alice Mwangi, Operation Eyesight Country Manager, was proud to recognize Operation Eyesight’s partnerships, especially Standard Chartered Bank’s Seeing is Believing. “With the help of our partners, Operation Eyesight has renovated the eye unit that has screened more than 40,000 people and treated over 20,000 patients for various eye conditions.”

Mwangi says that in September 2017, 22 community health workers were trained to conduct door-to-door screening in Kapchemutwa ward. Since then, more than 20,000 people have been screened, helping us reach our goal of ensuring eye health care becomes part of regular health care.

Key guests at the event included:

• Deputy Governor of Elgeyo Marakwet County Mr. Wesley Rotich;
• Chief Officer of Health Dr. Titus Ayabei;
• Country Director of Medical Services Dr. Isaac Kipyego;
• Medical Superintendent of Iten Referral Hospital Dr. Castro Mugalla;
• Sub county Director of Education, Mr. William Kipchumba

The Chief Officer of Health, Dr. Titus Ayabei, announced the exciting news that the county government has established a sub-county eye unit in Chepkorio hospital. The government will provide staffing for the hospital, and he urged people to support the facility for much needed eye care equipment.

Ayabei encouraged people to go for regular eye checkups and Mwangi agrees. “I hope all our patients will help us help others by becoming eye health care ambassadors and creating community awareness about proper eye health care,” says Mwangi.

As for young Kevin, he’s grateful for having his sight back. “Thanks to my doctors, I’m not struggling anymore.”

You can help kids like Kevin by donating today.

The post World Sight Day has special meaning for one little boy appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

As a tailor, sharp eyesight is a must. How else could you follow a pattern, thread a needle or stitch a straight line?

But what if your eyes started to fail you?

That’s what happened to a tailor named Thomas, who lives in Kapsumai village in Kenya.  He’s proud of his successful tailoring business, which enabled him to put all of his kids through school.

After years of successful work, one day Thomas noticed the vision in his left eye seemed blurry. “At first, I could no longer thread the eye of a needle. I needed to ask other people to help me. But then I’d end up sewing completely off the mark!”

Worse, a year later the vision in his right eye also failed. Unable to do the quality work he was accustomed to, his business deteriorated and one day, finally closed. Within two years, Thomas was totally blind.

He went from being the breadwinner of his family to a dependent, unable to even walk around on his own. His wife and children needed to help him with everything.

It seemed like things couldn’t get any worse, but one day while his wife was outside working on their small farm, Thomas fell and badly injured both his legs. From that point on, he was forced to stay inside to nurse his wounds. Thomas worried himself sick, but there was little he could do.

“My future seemed full of darkness and suffering,” he told our staff. “I felt useless.”

Family members encouraged Thomas to try traditional medicine, but it didn’t help. Others told him to bear it, telling him that blindness was an inevitable consequence of aging.

But then – HOPE! Thomas heard about an Operation Eyesight-supported eye unit at the nearby town of Iten. His son took him there, and he underwent cataract surgery on both eyes. His operations were successful; and today, Thomas can see – and sew – again!

“My family and I are extremely happy! Now I can thread a needle’s eye just like before, and I’ve gone back to my tailoring business. My customers are coming back and life has become sweet again,” he told us.

He added with a smile, “To the people in Canada, you made my future bright. I was hopeless, but now I’m a man full of hope. Thank you!”

There are many other incredible men like Thomas who suffer from avoidable blindness, and they need your help. Give the gift of sight today, and restore not only someone’s sight, but their lifestyle and dignity – For All the World to See!

The post He once was blind, but now he sews! appeared first on Operation Eyesight.