Losing someone or something you love can be very painful. After a significant loss, people often experience many difficult and overwhelming emotions: hopelessness, fear, anger, frustration, self-doubt, sadness. Jaa Katuta experienced all this and more.

Jaa lives in a grass-thatched house near Mwinilugna, a town in the North-Western Province of Zambia. He has lived there for over 80 years, his whole life. His most cherished moments were those he spent with his wife, but his happiness came to an end the day she passed away.

Already grieving the loss of his beloved wife, Jaa felt completely defeated when he started to lose yet another cherished gift: his eyesight. He had developed cataracts in his old age, and over the course of a year his vision deteriorated to the point where he was blind.

“Life without my wife and no sight was unbearable,” Jaa explains. To make matters even worse, he had difficulty farming and could no longer provide for himself. He thought he would live alone in darkness for the rest of his days.

Fortunately, his son had heard of Mukinge Mission Hospital, Operation Eyesight’s partner in nearby Kasempa. Unable to watch his father suffer any longer, he brought Jaa to the hospital for help.

There, Jaa was properly diagnosed and received cataract surgery free of charge, thanks to the support of Operation Eyesight’s donors. He can now see clearly again and has returned to his farm work. Although he still misses his wife dearly, he has renewed hope for the future.

“I am so impressed with your help,” he says. “Thank you very much. God bless you!”

You can help more people like Jaa. With a $50 donation, you can provide cataract surgery to someone in need. The gift of sight is the gift of hope! Please consider giving today.

The post Restoring sight and hope appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

Just ask Basson Mingishi, a 58-year old subsistence farmer who lives in Zambia with his wife and school-aged children.

Basson and his family dwell in a grass thatched hut in the town of Mwinilunga, where he has lived his entire life. Unfortunately, he gradually became blind a few years ago. As his vision failed, he became depressed – so depressed that he felt he didn’t want to live any more.

Blindness was a huge burden to him and his family. “Losing sight is the most painful thing I have ever experienced,” he told one of our staff. “A blind man is incomplete if he cannot see his family and cannot fend for them.” Too proud to beg, Basson sat alone in his hut, unable to work, refusing to eat or drink. Depression was a part of his daily routine.

Then one day, that routine changed. His wife talked to a community member who had his sight resorted at Mukinge Mission Hospital in Kasempa, Zambia. She convinced the dubious Basson to make the trip to the Operation Eyesight partner hospital, 450 km away.

There, Basson was diagnosed with cataracts, and surgeries were performed on both eyes free of cost to him. When the bandages came off, he could see again! Imagine his joy and his relief!

“I am very, very happy indeed. Thank you very much. God bless you. God increase your years on earth. You shall stay well and your children will also,” he elatedly told our staff.

Not only was Basson happy and relieved, he declared his intention to go back to Mwinilunga and convince others to have their eyes checked at the hospital. “Now I will be the ambassador for eye services,” he said with a smile. “Thank you!”

Learn more about Operation Eyesight’s work in Zambia and other countries by visiting our website!

The post Clouds of self-doubt disperse for formerly blind man appeared first on Operation Eyesight.