It’s also time to think about gifts for the special folks in your life. Our team has put together a great menu of gift options this year. Each Operation Eyesight gift conveys a beautiful message to a friend, family, colleague or that hard-to-buy-for person. And each has a profound impact on a person, family and community in the developing world.

We thought we’d put together a list of five of our most popular gift guide options paired with ideas of who they’d be perfect for – hope you enjoy!

1. For the bookworm on your list, bring the world into focus for three children with the gift of brand-new, custom-fitted prescription eyeglasses. Your gift can help children enjoy reading for only $20.
2. For the person who loves to travel and see the world, give a cataract surgery for just $30. Cataract is the most common form of blindness in the world and quite easily treatable with a straightforward surgery. Give the gift of sight today and open a world of new possibilities for someone in Africa or India!
3. For the teenager in your life who takes 20 minute showers (or perhaps one who rarely showers at all), give the gift of water. The struggle against avoidable blindness can’t be won without access to clean water, which is in scarce supply in sub-Saharan Africa. Gifts that fund water projects start at $50.
4. For the volunteer who is always looking after the community, give the gift of community eye care for $100. Often people who need care the most can’t make it to a clinic or hospital. Community eye care brings care to them – reaching marginalized individuals and families right where they live.
5. For the teacher or person who loves to learn, give the gift of training. The training we fund gives locals the means to take care of their own people. Gifts of training start at $100.

We have gifts that cover all price points! Your friends and loved ones receive a personalized card of your choice and an overview of the work the gift will support. Go to http://www.operationeyesightindia.org/giftguide to order your life-changing gifts today.

The post 5 fun philanthropic holiday gift ideas appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

My reaction seems to be pretty common here in North America, but in India and Africa, most children welcome eyeglasses as a precious gift. Here’s a great story from India that shows why.

Reethu Malli, who lives with her family in Fatehnagar slum in New Delhi, was an excellent student – so much so that her father, a factory worker, made major financial sacrifices to get the 12-year-old into a nearby private school. That’s why her parents were concerned when she started complaining of headaches and trouble seeing the blackboard. Her teachers also noticed her behaviour changed and she even fell down the school stairs.

When her father took her to a local doctor, he prescribed rest and multi-vitamins. After several days, there was no improvement. In fact, Reethu’s marks plunged and she started staying home to avoid school and her friends. Her parents were very concerned – what would happen to Reethu if she couldn’t get a good education?

A neighbour recommended the local Operation Eyesight vision centre, which provides treatment free of charge. After and examination there, the technician recommended eyeglasses. Reethu and her family were unconvinced that such a simple thing could be the answer.

Fortunately, one of our community health workers followed up with the family and convinced them to get Reethu screened again. When she was diagnosed with refractive error for a second time, they agreed to try the eyeglasses, which were available without charge to them thanks to generous Operation Eyesight donors.

Today, thanks to those brand new, custom-fitted eyeglasses, Reethu can see clearly again. She is playing with her friends, attending school and achieving good grades once more! Her glasses help ensure she gets a good education and a bright future. Her parents are thrilled. And so are we. It’s a privilege to put our donors’ gifts to use in ways that truly change lives.

You can change the lives of three children like Reethu by giving just $20 through our online Gift Guide today. Give gifts that give twice this holiday season!

The post SEE what a difference glasses can make appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

When poverty leads to blindness, it’s truly heartbreaking because there is little hope without outside help. Countless children miss out on an education, simply because they can’t afford a pair of eyeglasses – they can’t see the chalkboard or focus on words in books. The little girls, especially, are doomed to live wretched, marginalized lives if no one reaches out to them.

Universal Children’s Day is coming up on November 20. This is a good time to think about kids in trouble, especially those threatened by blindness and low vision. Did you know that every minute, a child goes blind somewhere in the world?

In 1954, the United Nations created Universal Children’s Day, knowing that the youngest are often most at risk. Today, the day is celebrated all over the world to promote international improvement of children’s welfare.

Operation Eyesight is deeply concerned about the welfare of children. Our program partners work directly with children and their mothers to improve the conditions that promote eye health. In India, all of our partner hospitals now run optical shops and pharmacies in conjunction with the eye units. We also support immunization programs, nutrition classes, eye screenings and access to job training. Among our African partners, this same vision is becoming a reality.

Here’s an idea. If you’d like to reach out to a child right now, see if you have a spare $20. That will purchase an eye exam and brand new custom-fitted eyeglasses for three children in Africa or India (yes, you read that right – three individual pairs of glasses). Our online Gift Guide has details about this, along with other ways to help kids in need. Have a look, and thanks for thinking about the children.

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Ms Harrison, my daughter’s Kindergarten teacher, was a real gem, as was Mrs Pasutto, who taught both of my children and whom they both adored.

We were fortunate in most of these professional relationships, right up to Ms Cove and Mr Bagocki, senior high teacher advisors who perfectly managed that balance between caring and firmness.

Like many parents, I recognized that these caring adults made a significant difference in the lives of my children. I often chose to acknowledge these “above and beyond” relationships with cards and small gifts to celebrate the end of a school year.

If you’d like to mark a special relationship with something different than the usual chocolates or coffee shop gift card, check out a Gift of Honour on our website.

You can pay tribute to your child’s teacher, coach or caregiver for only $20 – the cost to provide eyeglasses for three Indian or African children in his or her name. Your gift of $30 is the cost of providing sight-saving surgery for one person.

If you wanted to team up with another family or collect funds for a class gift, $75 would provide funds for vital antibiotics for 300 people, while a gift of $100 would help transform a slum into a healthy community.

Even a small Gift of Honour can have a huge impact. Restoring sight means a mother can once again care for her family, a child can go to school, a father can earn an income and a grandparent won’t be a burden.

And as an added bonus, you will let your child’s care provider or teacher know that she or he is special. Imagine Ms Smith’s delight to learn that in her honour, you have actually given sight to someone in Africa or India who is blind. What a life-changing way to mark the end of a school year!

On a personal note: one last “thank you” from my family to all the wonderful professionals who taught, cared for, worried about, laughed with and loved my kids over the years. Your impact is still being felt. They are fine young adults now, and we couldn’t have done it without you!

The post Giving more than a card, a hug or a handshake appeared first on Operation Eyesight.