When his vision started to blur, Stenwell didn’t think much of it at first. He figured it was just a symptom of his age and a normal part of growing older.

But he became increasingly concerned as his vision deteriorated over the next three years. He realized something was very wrong, but with his family’s difficult financial situation, he knew he couldn’t afford to seek treatment. Without any options, Stenwell feared his blindness was a punishment from God.

This is where someone just like you stepped in to help. Thanks to our donors’ support, our partner, Bansara Eye Care, held an eye screening camp in Stenwell’s community. Operation Eyesight-trained  community health workers went out into the village to inform everyone that there would be an eye screening camp. They reached every household, including  Stenwell’s.

“When the health worker explained that I could get help for my condition, I was filled with new hope,” says Stenwell.

At the eye camp, Stenwell was diagnosed with cataracts in both eyes. He was told that two simple surgeries could restore his sight, and that the surgeries would be free of charge.

“I was anxious about the surgery, but the community health worker explained that the surgeries would be minor procedures that would help me see clearly again,” recalls Stenwell. “They were patient with me, and I felt I could trust them fully.”

For Stenwell, it was like magic to SEE again after receiving surgery. People like you made that possible! Stenwell was reached through our community eye health program and received the treatment he needed for free.

“I am extremely thankful to the people who helped me see again,” says Stenwell. “Coming from a humble family I never thought that I could get hope for my vision. Had it not been for the community health workers and the doctors of Bansara Eye Care, I could’ve gone blind permanently.”

Stenwell is now back to playing with his grandchild and helping his family with the farming, while taking time to garden when he wants to relax. His life has been transformed and he’s regained his independence, all because of our donors. Thank you!

There are thousands of people like Stenwell waiting for people like you to help restore their sight. YOU can change lives like Stenwell’s with a donation today!

The post People like you are making magic happen with the gift of sight! 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.

Our Global Director of Programs, Kashinath Bhoosnurmath, is an expert in eye health development. He knows how important eye health care is in the communities where we work. That’s why he and our team developed our model of sustainable eye health care, to address the many barriers facing these communities and give them access to the care they need.

Kashinath recently wrote an article for the prestigious Community Eye Health Journal about our Hospital-Based Community Eye Health Program (HBCEHP). In it, he discusses the importance of reaching people who would otherwise go unreached. Despite improvements in some of the countries we work in (better infrastructure and a growing middle class), there are still millions of people suffering from avoidable blindness.

There are many barriers to obtaining eye care in the countries where we work. Economic barriers are common for the people we help; many of them cannot afford the cost of treatment for their eye care. Also,local hospitals desperately need trained eye health care professionals and equipment to provide professional eye health care services.

Not only this, but there are other barriers you might not expect when it comes to providing communities in need with eye health care. That’s why our HBCEHP model takes into account the problems these communities face, as shown in the following excerpt from Kash’s article.

“Hospital-Based Community Eye Health Programme (HBCEHP): The model

Poor eye health-seeking behaviour usually stems from inadequate knowledge of eye diseases, harmful cultural beliefs and practices, eye problems viewed as low priority, gender discrimination, lack of affordability and poor mobility amongst the elderly. Often hospitals:

• Provide eye care services but do not empower targeted communities;
• Do not focus on the elimination of avoidable blindness; and
• Make services available free of cost, but poor patients at risk of losing their sight do not access these services.

[…] The above analyses led us to the conclusion that there were gaps in the services offered by hospitals and that greater effort was needed to empower the target communities.

Through a pilot project implemented from 2009 to 2013 in southern India, we learned that by empowering people living in the service area of the hospital and improving their eye health-seeking behaviour, while continuing to deliver quality eye care services, hospitals could significantly contribute to the elimination of avoidable blindness on a sustainable basis. This insight led us to develop and successfully scale up a model, named Hospital-Based Community Eye Health Programme (HBCEHP).”

By discovering the issues that affected communities suffering with avoidable blindness, our team built the model to include the “strengthening [of] hospitals to ensure delivery of quality services; strengthening primary health services, including primary eye care services; and empowering target communities to take ownership and responsibility for their eye health needs.”

Empowering communities to seek out professional eye health care is especially important, and that’s where community health workers come in. They are usually women who are selected from the very communities we aim to help, then they’re trained to go door-to-door to screen people for eye health issues, and to refer them for treatment or further diagnosis if necessary.

And the best part of our model is that it’s self-sustaining. By helping build capacity in the hospitals we partner with, we make it possible for them to attract patients who can afford their treatment, and these paying patients in turn help subsidize the treatment of those living in poor communities who could not afford the eye health care they need.

Even this is just an overview. If you want to learn more about the model, you can read Kashinath’s full article here.

Implementing our model is made possible by the generosity of supporters like you! There are already hundreds of communities being helped, but there are still hundreds more that do not have access to quality eye health care. Please consider becoming a monthly donor to help us reach more communities in need – For All the World to See!

The post How do you eliminate avoidable blindness on a sustainable basis? We have the answer! appeared first on Operation Eyesight.