As her vision faded more and more, Rathnamma was forced to cut back at work, putting extra financial strain on her household.

Rathnamma knew she needed help. She wanted to go to one of the nearby hospitals to seek treatment, but she kept quiet for two years, worried she wouldn’t be able to afford the cost.  

Rathnamma was on the verge of losing her sight, and her hope for the future was running out.

But one day everything changed! Operation Eyesight-trained community health workers visited the family during a community outreach program. When they reached the couple’s home, they told Rathnamma they were there to screen the family for eye health issues. They immediately recognized that Rathnamma ‘s sight was fading, and they referred her to a vision centre where she was diagnosed with cataracts. From there, she was referred to our partner hospital for cataract surgeries – free of charge!

Soon after, Rathnamma underwent sight-restoring eye surgery. Today she is able to see clearly. Now she’s back at work and earning more to support her little family!

And that’s not all. Although Vankitaraman had incurable blindness, the community health workers taught him mobility skills to get around. They trained him to walk around with a long cane to navigate his surroundings. As a result, Venkitaraman no longer needs to sit idle at home. Today he takes care of the household chores while Rathnamma works outside.

And the health workers didn’t stop there. Knowing the couple was struggling financially, they helped them apply for disability pensions from the government. Now they have an additional income each month that takes the edge off their financial stress!

The couple remembers the community health workers fondly. Thanks to all the help they received, Venkitaraman and Rathnamma were able to escape a terrible fate, and they have hope for a brighter future. 

And it’s all because to people like you! Through the support of donors like you, we are able to bring sustainable changes to the lives of so many across South Asia and Africa. Thanks to you, thousands of families have access to the quality eye care services they need! There are still so many who need your help. Please make a donation and give the gift of hope to more families today.

The post Together from Darkness to Light appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

Standsingh is an 82-year-old man who lives in the state of Meghalaya in India. It’s a hilly region, surrounded by mountains and rocky cliffs. He was born and raised in a small village, where he lives with his children and grandchildren in a sturdy little house made of timber and brick.

Sadly, Standsingh’s wife passed away eight years ago, so he works as a farmer on his own to help support his family.

Despite the hard work, he loved farming and herding his cattle. Unfortunately, as time passed, his eyesight progressively deteriorated, and he found it hard to identify and recognize his own cattle from afar.

Not only did his vision affect his work, it also made it difficult for him to do simple daily tasks at home.

Eventually Standsingh was forced to stop working, and he could no longer support his family members. He despaired as he felt that he was becoming more of a burden to his family with every passing day.

“I had so much difficulty herding my cattle in the field. I could hardly recognize my own cows from the others belonging to nearby shepherds. Back home, I often felt that I was an inconvenience to my family members since I was unable to do simple tasks without help.” 

Just when Standsingh felt like all hope was lost, field workers from our partner hospital, the Bansara Eye Care Centre, came knocking at his door. They screened his eyes and when they discovered the cause of his visual impairment, they immediately referred him for sight-restoring cataract surgery.

Standsingh worried that he couldn’t afford the cost of treatment, but the field workers assured him that it would all be free of charge to him and his family, thanks to the support of Operation Eyesight’s generous donors!

Soon after, Standsingh received sight-restoring surgery in his left eye, restoring part of his vision. And he’s due to go back for surgery in his right eye soon! Meanwhile, he has started working again, and he has no trouble knowing which cattle to herd and feed.

He has also regained his independence at home! Now he can easily perform his daily tasks without a family member’s help. Not only that, he’s so excited to have his vision restored that he often goes out to visit his relatives and friends who live in other nearby villages.

“I received such professional and quality care, despite not coming from a well-to-do family. I represent a family which lives below the poverty line and to have this kind of service made available to people like us fills me with great joy. If it wasn’t for this, I wouldn’t have found any other way to regain my sight.”

He adds, “I am so thankful to all the staff of Bansara Eye Care Centre and the generous donors who helped me to restore my sight.”

Stories like Standsingh’s are what inspire and drive us in our mission to eliminate avoidable blindness in the countries we work in. Thanks to the incredible generosity of people like you, Standsingh’s sight and his quality of life have been restored. And there are more people like him who need your help! Make a donation to our cataract surgery program today to provide other men like Standsingh with the quality eye care they need!

The post A man’s sight has been restored and the cows have come back home! appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

But what would it be like to live your life thinking that your future had been decided for you?

Shabnam is a 32-year-old woman who lives with her husband and three children in Bhopal, India. She comes from a traditional Muslim family where it is frowned upon for women to work outside the home.

In  spring 2014, Operation Eyesight was holding interviews for Community Health Workers, looking to hire local people to be trained to go door-to-door in the community and identify eye health issues, make an initial diagnosis and refer patients for treatment.

One of Shabnam’s relatives heard about the position and encouraged her to apply, but Shabnam had lived her whole life with the understanding that as a woman, she was not meant to work outside the home. She regretfully decided this opportunity wasn’t for her.

However, that was not the last Shabnam heard of the job. One of her close friends had also heard about the position and decided to apply. Inspired by her friend’s enthusiasm, Shabnam had a change of heart. Armed with a new determination, she bravely sought her family’s support.

It wasn’t easy for Shabnam to convince her family that she should apply. At first, they refused without a thought, but she wasn’t going to give up the chance to make a difference.

After much persuasion, her family finally agreed.

Then Shabnam’s life changed! She attended the interview, and she was selected to become a health worker!

And that was just the beginning! Little did Shabnam know just what contributions she was about to make to the community as a health worker. She would be educating the community not only on the importance of eye health, but on the importance of sanitation, nutrition and more!

Since 2014, Shabnam has been working hard for her community. Her dream is to eliminate avoidable blindness from her area – a daunting task to most, but not to Shabnam. She has diligently gone door-to-door to survey everyone in her community about their eye health. After years of tireless work, most people in her community have been referred to eye care and/or have undergone treatment to correct vision problems.

Just a few blind patients remain, and though they have refused to seek treatment, Shabnam has not given up on helping them. By involving religious leaders in the community who support Operation Eyesight’s efforts, Shabnam has already succeeded in convincing one patient to undergo treatment. Just think, soon Shabnam’s community could be avoidable blindness free!

And Shabnam’s efforts haven’t stopped at fighting avoidable blindness.

Shabnam has been working with Aman Advanced Eye Care ever since she was hired as a health worker, and during that time she has built strong relationships with government organizations like Anganwandi, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and the Auxiliary Nurse Midwifery organization.

Through these relationships, Shabnam met a two-year-old girl named Zumera who was being treated at a government-established mother and child care centre.

Shabnam’s heart melted when she met the tiny girl who was very malnourished. At the age of two years, she was a mere 5.4 kg, or 12 lbs! As a mother herself, Shabnam was deeply concerned for Zumera.

Shabnam began to care for Zumera as if she were her own. During her working hours, Shabnam began visiting the care centre twice a day to make sure Zumera was eating healthy amounts of food. She even went so far as to visit Zumera’s home to encourage her parents to feed her eggs, milk and other nutritious foods she needed for her development.

Zumera’s family did not take kindly to the intrusion. Annoyed with Shabnam, Zumera’s father asked angrily, “She is our daughter, why do you care? Mind your own business.”

But Shabnam persevered, just as she had when she applied to become a health worker. She was not going to stop until Zumera was healthy again.

In time, Zumera’s parents understood that Shabnam’s efforts were important. Even Zumera’s father recognized Shabnam’s kindness, and he welcomed Shabnam into his home to continue helping his young daughter.

After four months of working with a case worker and Zumera’s parents, the little one started to grow to a healthy weight! She is now 7.7 kg (17 lbs), and is getting better, thanks to Shabnam’s dedication. Zumera is happy and healthy, receiving the nutrition she needs! What’s more, Zumera’s parents are grateful to Shabnam for not giving up.

Imagine! So much good is being done by one strong woman whose mission it is to help the people around her. And this was all made possible with the support of people like you! Because of your generous donations, Shabnam was offered an opportunity she never dreamed she’d have. Her work is not done, thanks to people like you!

There are so many women like Shabnam who have the passion and desire to make a difference, and you can help them! Donate today to our Community Outreach Program to empower other caring women like Shabnam to make a difference. Together, we can create a world where eye health is important to everyone!

The post Shabnam’s story: Community health work at its finest appeared first on Operation Eyesight.