If you live in Campbell River, BC, you might open your mail one day to find a greeting card and gift from an enthusiastic Operation Eyesight supporter… even if you don’t know him personally.

For the past 30-plus years, Don McIver has celebrated local milestones by giving friends, strangers and organizations like Rotary and church groups a tribute gift from Operation Eyesight: a cataract surgery that will restore the sight of someone in a developing country.

“I like the idea of giving,” he says. “My wife Joan and I were hooked from the first time we gave that gift. To think that two people with no medical capabilities could give the gift of sight to people in far-away countries… it was the best thing we could do for anyone.” He hopes the recipients, in turn, like the idea and choose to give themselves.

Don volunteers for a number of local events, including the Campbell River Dance, film festival and Christmas craft sales. He sets up a table offering what he calls “eye cards,” greeting cards from Operation Eyesight that fund cataract surgeries in Africa or India. Many people contact the organization to purchase the cards, and at least one couple bought all their Christmas gifts through Operation Eyesight, thanks to his promotion.

Don is pleased that additional good is resulting from his steady volunteer schedule. “I’m always happy when we can give more cataract surgeries. Thirty dollars won’t do much for us here, but we can make such a difference in another person’s life by giving.”

As a father and grandfather, Don recognizes the difficulty presented by being blind in a developing country. “It’s difficult enough to raise kids here in Canada. But imagine when a mother loses her vision, or a husband loses his job. Imagine when children are born with congenital cataracts.”

Don regularly reads SightLines newsletters and watches the videos that offer a glimpse of lives impacted by generous donors. He has worked with the community television station to air Operation Eyesight videos, further helping to share the organization’s story with a wider audience.

Long retired from his work in a local pulp and paper mill, Don now enjoys being outside as much as he can. He himself recently had cataract surgeries, and is now doubly appreciative of healthy eyes.

“There are so many nice things in nature to enjoy,” he muses. “What pleasure we have from eyesight!”

The post Thanks to you: Don McIver appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

Hyderabad is a huge city (compared with Calgary, where I live) with all the urban drama, extreme sights and sounds, and contrast between rich and poor that characterize most Indian cities. Leaving the city for the smaller centres can be a relief to the senses, but the contrasts and disparities are no less evident in the countryside.

While in India and other developing countries, I’m often struck by the vulnerability of women, especially those who must fend for themselves. I note that women and children are the focus of this year’s International Development Week (February 5-11). It’s a good time, therefore, to remember that nearly two-thirds of blind people worldwide are women and girls, and in many places, men have twice the access to eye care as women.* In countries with significant poverty, like the places where Operation Eyesight is at work, equal access to eye care could substantially reduce blindness and the problems associated with low vision.

Operation Eyesight’s approach to development is based on the belief that all people, regardless of income, location or gender, should have access to information about eye health and to medical services when they need them. That, we believe, is the key to eliminating avoidable blindness.

I’m reminded of the story of Parvathy, a woman who benefited from the community outreach program of Garnett Memorial Hospital in southern India. Talk about vulnerable! Parvathy’s work as a weaver was her livelihood, but blindness from cataracts threatened her very life. You can read about her in the latest issue of SightLines newsletter on page one.

International Development Week is a time to learn more about life in developing countries and ways to contribute to positive change locally and globally. Speaking from here in Hyderabad, I see women struggling with poverty, but I also see a culture that is rich in ancient tradition as well as modern innovation. Take time next week, if you can, to learn about India and all it has to offer.

Also, stay tuned to Grey Mist Lifting in the weeks ahead for more stories about the ways that international development is changing the world, and how you can help.

* Source: Vision 2020: The Right to Sight

The post Remembering women in need appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

Welcome to Grey Mist Lifting – the official online journal of Operation Eyesight. Over the years, we’ve learned that the people who support Operation Eyesight love to hear stories about people in need of help, and how that help was delivered.

This new web log (or “blog”) is an opportunity to add colour (maybe even humour!) to a serious topic – eye care in the developing world. We hope to fill in some of the gaps on our work in India and Africa, so you can see what we see.

Because it’s weekly, what you read here will be more timely – more fresh – than what we normally print in SightLines. As a newsletter which comes out only three times a year, SightLines is tightly focused. This blog, on the other hand, is designed to cover a wider range of topics, and to generate feedback. That’s right – you’ll also be able to submit comments on what you read.

About the title, we’ve decided to call it Grey Mist Lifting because this expression – or words like it – are commonly heard in the clinics we support. When the bandages come off after cataract surgery, patients often describe what they are experiencing. For example; “Yesterday, all I could see was a grey mist. Today, the mist has lifted. I can see again.”

Imagine what that must be like!

Next week I’ll be back again, so please return. And in the weeks ahead, you’ll hear from others on our leadership team in Canada as well as our staff in India and Africa, and other guest bloggers.

On February 25, Lynne Dulaney, our Director of Communications, will tell you about her fact-finding mission through Africa. This is her first trip to that beautiful continent, and she will help you see it through her eyes.

Thanks for joining the conversation!

The post Welcome to our blog appeared first on Operation Eyesight.