Or picture yourself shopping at the local marketplace and wondering if you’re being shortchanged by the vendor because you can’t see the numbers on the coins.

That’s what Sharda, who lives in a village in Uttar Pradesh, India, experienced during her 35 years of near-blindness.

Until recently, Sharda had never seen her grandchildren’s faces.

The grandmother started losing her eyesight after being bitten by a snake – an injury that affected both eyes. During a hospital visit, a health worker told her that they couldn’t do anything to help her, even though Sharda was in a position to pay for eye health services. She travelled all the way to Punjab, where her sister lives, to see if she could get help there, but once again, she was turned away without treatment.

One day, Sharda met a community health volunteer who was going from house to house as part of our project with the C. L. Gupta Eye Institute (CLGEI) in nearby Moradabad. The volunteer quickly assessed Sharda’s eyes and concluded that she had cataracts, and gave her a referral to CLGEI, where she got a formal diagnosis and an appointment for surgery.

After getting both cataracts removed, Sharda was amazed at the dramatic recovery of her vision. She could finally see her grandchildren clearly.

Today, Sharda is back to cooking and shopping, and once again feels loved and valued by her family. With a new lease on life, she tells everyone she knows about the CLGEI vision centre and how staff there helped her regain her sight.

This now-tireless eye health ambassador has her sights set on her next project: her husband. Sharda says she’s taking him to the hospital soon to get his cataracts removed as well.

You too can be an eye health ambassador – please share our website with others or make a donation.

The post An eye health ambassador’s long journey to restored sight appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

What if you were told by a respected family friend that wearing eyeglasses would cause your child to go blind? Imagine your shock and fear!

That was the situation faced by Hannah Quayson, a widow living in Kasoa, Central region, Ghana. Hannah works at a local convenience store to support her six children. After her husband’s death three years ago, she received a dire warning from a prophetess and friend of the family: Hannah’s youngest child, Ekow, then 11 years old, would go blind if he continued to wear the eyeglasses he had been prescribed since he was two years old. Not knowing any different, poor Hannah believed the prophetess and prevented her son from wearing his eyeglasses.

Now 14 years old, Ekow’s life changed dramatically. He had been one of the best students in his class, but without his glasses, he couldn’t see the chalkboard and couldn’t read. His teacher tried to get him to sit at the front of the classroom, but – typical of adolescent boys – Ekow insisted on sitting in the back row. His marks fell quickly.

Fortunately, luck smiled on Ekow last year, when the outreach team from Operation Eyesight’s Watborg Eye Services visited his school for a regular school eye screening. Ekow was diagnosed with abnormally low vision, yet the refractive procedure was able to bring his vision to normal.

The outreach workers were even able to convince Hannah that her son would not go blind with the new eyeglasses. Now, thanks to his brand-new, custom fitted prescription glasses, Ekow is able to see clearly for the first time in years!

Ekow, his mother and the school are grateful to our donors for your unyielding commitment to the elimination of avoidable blindness. Thank you!

For just $20, you can provide others with prescription eyeglasses, too. See our Gift Guide to learn more.

The post A return to vision appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

Last spring, we told you how Operation Eyesight helped fund an exciting technological development that will revolutionize eye examination: a smartphone application called Portable Eye Examination Kit (PEEK).

Now being tested in rural schools in Kenya, the school-based PEEK pilot project is helping build capacity of teachers to monitor and evaluate the visual acuity of their students.

Wilberforce Nyukuri, 41, has been a teacher for four years at Kiminini Primary School, located in Transzoia County in Kenya’s Rift Valley. Before he was sensitized about eye problems, the teacher admits that it was not easy for him to recognize children with low vision or other eye issues. The only help he could offer a child was to move them to the front of the classroom to better see, or inform their parents.

Through Operation Eyesight’s Child Eye Health project supported by Seeing is Believing, Wilberforce was trained on the principles of primary eye care, and later was picked for PEEK training.

Wilberforce praises PEEK’s efficiency, adding it has completely removed paperwork from the screening exercise. Data is transmitted directly from the smartphone to a doctor’s computer. “PEEK is perfect. It is very fast to screen and less tiring,” he says, noting about 950 pupils were screened at his school as part of the PEEK study.

Dr. Hillary Rono, an ophthalmologist in charge of Kenya’s North Rift Zone (population 2.5 million people), is an investigator in the pilot project. His interest in validating PEEK arose from the scarcity of eye workers and the need for early detection and treatment of children with visual impairment.

According to Rono, school screening in most parts of Kenya is conducted by eye health workers, which takes time that could otherwise be used in treating patients. By using mobile phone technology and PEEK, teachers can independently conduct screening in their schools.

Technology is creating important new ways to help fight avoidable blindness – and we will keep you up to date on PEEK’s progress! Special thanks to Seeing is Believing for funding this exciting project.

The post School screening in rural Kenya – using a mobile phone! appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

Last fall, the Seeing is Believing Child Eye Health Project, one of our partnerships with Standard Chartered Bank, began training teachers of sighted children in Nakuru County. Janeffer was selected to attend the training, which focused on vision screening, general eye health, and eye health education and promotion.

Since her training, Janeffer has screened 152 children and referred 76 of them to the eye unit at Nakuru Provincial Hospital for various eye conditions. Many of the children were suffering from severe allergies. Janeffer advised their parents to take them to the eye unit to be diagnosed and treated.

“Initially, most parents were unaware and didn’t bother much when their child scratched their itchy eyes,” explains Janeffer. “Now they’re aware of the issue. Children who previously suffered from teary, red eyes are now happy their eyes are healed.”

Other students were diagnosed with uncorrected refractive error. Simply put, they needed eyeglasses. Thanks to the generous support from our donors, the students received brand new, custom-fitted prescription eyeglasses.

Grade six student Monica Adongo is one grateful beneficiary. On Janeffer’s recommendation, her mother took her to see an ophthalmologist.

“I am very happy that I can see everything well,” says Monica. “I can read what is written on the board and I don’t need to copy my friends’ work anymore. I am grateful that my teacher recommended I go to the eye unit.”

Janeffer also began a hand and face washing program at her school, after learning that proper sanitation can help prevent the spread of bacteria and eye disease. She found two jerrycans in the school kitchen and had them washed and filled with water. The children are now getting used to the practice of using the water to regularly clean their hands and faces.

Additionally, Janeffer makes eye health presentations to the students. She speaks during morning assemblies and goes from one classroom to other, educating children on proper eye care. She also speaks with the students’ parents whenever she has the opportunity.

“The training I received has made me more sensitive to the eye needs of our children,” says Janeffer. “I have been able to create awareness among my students and some parents on the importance of proper eye health.”

Janeffer plans to educate her fellow teachers on the subject, too, so they can all work together to promote eye health and plan activities for the students.

You can support teachers like Janeffer as they strive to promote eye health in their schools in developing countries. This June, please consider making a tribute gift in honour of your favourite teacher. It’s a great way to say “thank you,” and at the same time help students see a bright future!  

The post Teacher learns how to help students get an A+ in eye health appeared first on Operation Eyesight.