A few months later, Meena, an Operation Eyesight-trained community health worker, approached his family during her door-to-door eye screening activities. His family described their situation to her and explained that although they knew what was causing his vision impairment, the surgery was too risky. Meena told the family that she had encountered cases similar to Bulal’s and that all hope was not lost. She was confident that she could help Bulal.

Over the next several months, with Meena’s guidance, Bulal was able to stabilize his blood sugar levels and lower his blood pressure significantly, making it safe for him to receive surgery. With Meena’s support, Bulal underwent cataract surgery at the Nepal Eye Hospital in Tripureshwor. His family is overjoyed that Bulal is back to his old self, and Bulal is thrilled to once again be able to actively participate in his family and community.

Although Operation Eyesight-trained community health workers are specifically trained in eye health care, they are passionate about helping their communities and go above and beyond to make sure that good vision and healthy eyes are in reach for as many people as possible. Donate today to help us train more community health workers and bring hope to more families.

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Every year, on the second Thursday of October, we acknowledge and celebrate World Sight Day. It’s a day to celebrate the accomplishments made in the global eye health sector, and also to acknowledge the inequalities that continue to persist and reflect on what we can all do to close that divide.  

One of the biggest things to celebrate this year is that the United Nations General Assembly passed a new eye health resolution. Titled Vision for Everyone – Accelerating Action to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, the resolution is the first agreement designed to tackle preventable sight loss to be adopted by the United Nations. It sets a target for all 193 member countries, including Canada, to ensure full access to eye care services for their populations, and to make eye health part of their nation’s journey to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.  

While this recognition and these goals are important, the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to set global eye health care back, affecting women and girls the most. Eye health is not just a peripheral health issue, it’s a human right. Without access to care, vision loss can significantly reduce quality of life. In most cases though, it doesn’t have to. When it comes to accessible eye care, everyone counts. Everyone deserves the opportunity to participate in school, succeed at their job, and see the faces of their friends and family.  

At Operation Eyesight, our mission is to prevent blindness and restore sight. To do this, we collaborate with local ministries and health authorities in the countries where we work to address the growing need for accessible eye health care. For eye health care to be accessible, it needs to be affordable and available at the local level. Find us on social media to follow along with our World Sight Day activities, including eye screenings, vision centre inaugurations, ophthalmic training and more across Canada, India, Ghana, Kenya and Zambia. 

Like with COVID-19, avoidable blindness can only be eliminated when we all work together to ensure that no one gets left behind when it comes to addressing local and global health inequities. If you would like to get involved, I encourage you to learn more about our programs and check out our newest video showcasing the work our teams do in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. This World Sight Day, I also encourage you to #LoveYourEyes and pledge to get your own eyes checked.  

[1] https://www.iapb.org/learn/vision-atlas/magnitude-and-projections/

[2] https://www.iapb.org/learn/vision-atlas/inequality-in-vision-loss/

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One student to benefit from the program is 14-year-old Rehema. Now in grade seven, she has struggled with low vision since she was a young child.

Rehema lives in the village of Kambi Kisii with her parents, both casual labours, and five siblings. Rehema’s mother told our team that she delivered Rehema at home. She noticed blood in her newborn’s eyes, but her mother-in-law assured her that it would go away by itself. It didn’t, and by the time Rehema went to school, she couldn’t read the blackboard.

Her vision worsened with time. Unable to see the notes at the front of the classroom, Rehema had to copy from her classmates’ books, holding the books right up to her face to make out the words. Sometimes her classmates laughed at her; she was so upset that she considered dropping out of school. To make matters worse, her eyes got very itchy, painful and teary, but she was afraid to tell her teachers.

Her teachers did notice her struggling in class, and they advised her parents to take her to the hospital, but they couldn’t afford to pay for surgery.

Fortunately, a team of teachers trained by Operation Eyesight visited Rehema’s school to conduct eye screenings. Rehema was one of 224 children screened that day. She was referred to the program’s mobile triage team for further assessment, who then referred her to our partner Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital. She was diagnosed with bilateral cataracts and underwent surgery free of charge, thanks to support from our donors. Today she can read the blackboard and her books comfortably.

“I want to read and become a teacher, like my father has been encouraging me,” says Rehema. “Now I can follow the teacher when he is calculating sums on the blackboard like the other pupils. I know that my performance will improve, and I’ll have the opportunity to pursue my dreams.”

Rehema’s mother was ecstatic. “Now my child can do her homework on her own; she doesn’t have to rely on the others,” she explained. “I didn’t have money to take my child to hospital, now I am happy because she has received treatment. This program is doing great things to support children who cannot afford health care services.”

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Upon his graduation with a master’s degree in development management, he received several employment offers, including one from Operation Eyesight. For Emmanuel, the choice was obvious.

“I viewed taking the role with Operation Eyesight as a personal challenge to do what I could, so that other families didn’t have to face the challenges and uncertainty that mine did,” says Emmanuel. “Now, not only am I able to support Ghana Health Services to incorporate eye health into their overall health delivery model, but I am also working to ensure that, every day, people at the community level have access to eye care services whenever they need them.”

We’re working in partnership with the Government of Ghana to strengthen the eye care systems across the country. Together, we’re successfully integrating eye health care into the primary health care system, bringing much-needed services to previously underserved communities. With passionate employees like Emmanuel and generous donors like you, we’re eliminating avoidable blindness in Ghana – For All The World To See.

Learn more about our work in Ghana here.

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