Nevertheless, with her family’s support, the young volunteer persists. She loves making an impact in her community, and she is proud to contribute to the family finances through the monthly stipend she earns. She is determined to build a better life for herself, her family and their young son.

Working with our partner organization, Symbiosis International, Faizunnahar goes door to door in nearby communities doing preliminary eye screenings and referring those with vision problems to the nearby Madarganj Vision Centre.

As a child, Faizunnahar remembers her father struggling with an eye problem. To get it treated, he had to travel from their village of Ruknai to the capital city Dhaka, nearly 200 kilometres away. His difficulties in getting treatment for his vision problems stayed with her and would later inspire her to seek out work in the healthcare sector.

When she first heard about the opportunity to become a community health volunteer, Faizunnahar worked quickly to reach out to a contact and put together a resume. After writing an exam, she was excited to learn she got the job. Since then, she has worked in maternal, newborn and child health, as well as primary eye care, for which we provided the training. She is proud of her achievements and says her greatest joy comes from knowing that her work is helping transform lives.

This International Women’s Day, we celebrate the thousands of women like Faizunnahar who are breaking barriers to help us deliver essential eye health care at the community level. As community health workers/volunteers, they have an opportunity to become leaders in their communities and act as catalysts for positive health outcomes. This employment improves their ability to become active participants in their family’s socioeconomic stability.

You can help support our mission to achieve gender equality in eye health care by sharing this post with friends and family, by learning more about the issues or by making a donation.

The post Meet Faizunnahar, a community health volunteer in Bangladesh appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

Bhagiram: India

Today, Bhagiram is proud to be supporting his family by growing wheat, mustard and other crops, but just a few years ago, that was not the case. The farmer had developed cataracts in both eyes, and they progressed to the point where he couldn’t do anything on his own. Even finding his way around his home became a challenge, and he often stumbled and fell. He had to give up farming, and became financially dependent on his son, who sells clothing for a living.

When a neighbour told him about a nearby vision centre, Bhagiram went in for a consultation. He was diagnosed and referred to our partner hospital for surgery. Today, he’s grateful that his vision has been restored and that he no longer has to rely on his son. 

Our team went to check up on Bhagiram and he proudly toured them around his now-flourishing farm, served tea and gave them each a bunch of fresh cilantro to take home. 

Aaron: Zambia

For the last six years, the highlight of Aaron’s week has been reading to his two granddaughters. “My job as grandpa is to make sure they grow up nurturing their dreams and imagination,” he says.

But as the years went by, Aaron noticed that the taller his granddaughters grew, the smaller the fonts in their favourite books became.

Aaron had found reading more and more difficult, and it even started giving him headaches. Eventually, he could only read one page to the girls at a time. “They were getting restless,” he chuckles, “saying ‘grandpa, grandpa, we need to know what happens next!’”  Aaron realized that he needed help to prevent his vision from getting any worse, so he went to the nearby Matero vision centre where he was given a diagnosis and equipped with a pair of sleek, silver reading glasses. 

“I know the girls won’t want me to read to them forever,” he says. “These glasses allow me to enjoy this quality time with them while I can.”  

Haji Khurshid: India

When a new vision centre was built on property owned by Haji Khurshid’s family, he became interested in learning more about Operation Eyesight’s work. His wife, Kudshiya Fatima, made some inquiries about jobs, and she soon started training as a community health worker.

With his daughter married and settled in another city and his wife off at work, Haji Khurshid found time heavy on his hands. He wanted to be more involved in his community, and to help his wife spread the word about the importance of eye health.  

He decided to spend his spare time sitting outside the vision centre and assisting those who crossed his path – lending a shoulder to patients who need help getting to and from appointments and helping alleviate the fears of those preparing for eye surgeries. A caring dad through and through, Haji Khurshid is enjoying spending his retirement years by supporting those around him.  

In honour of Father’s Day, we invite you to make a donation and give the gift of sight to more people like Bhagiram, Aaron and Haji Khurshid.

The post Celebrating Dads & Grandpas on Father’s Day appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

When our team first met Esther, cataracts in both of her eyes had robbed this 79-year-old matriarch of her sight. For a year, she became completely dependent on her daughter-in-law for day-to-day care and was unable to play with her several grandchildren.  

“I was worried because I thought my blindness was irreversible and that I was going to be a bother to my children forever,” recalls Esther, who lives in the remote village of Kapnegtuny in Nandi County, North Rift, Kenya. 

“I felt very desperate.” 

Esther’s cataracts also prevented her from gardening and caring for her cows. She says she missed cooking at home and playing music at traditional celebrations in her village.  

I’m pleased to tell you that this grandmother’s story had a happy ending – she was able to receive cataract surgery at Operation Eyesight’s partner hospital, Meteitei Sub-County Hospital, free of charge.  

“I am very happy. I can now see again and can see my dear grandchildren again,” she explains. “Now, I can move around without help and do things on my own. I hope to go back to my house soon and even cook for my husband.” 

Barriers to gender equity in Africa 

As a mother of two girls, I found myself particularly touched by Esther’s story when I met her.  

Although Esther’s story had a happy ending thanks to the generosity of our donors and support of our partners, for many women – especially mothers – blindness and lack of access to eye care is often tied to poverty, economic exclusion and misinformation. This has been the experience of many of the women our teams meet in the field.  

These compounding factors often result in women and girls having reduced access to education, healthcare and participation in public life.  

Esther told our team that she was extremely anxious about receiving surgery and this was a barrier to her seeking care sooner. She made the courageous decision to undergo surgery thanks to the encouragement of a neighbour who had also received surgery from an Operation Eyesight partner hospital. 

“Though I feared surgery, I had to face it to regain my sight,” she told us.  

Why are so many women blind? 

We know that women and girls are disproportionately impacted by vision loss and blindness. Fifty-five per cent of those suffering from vision loss worldwide are women and girls, and those living in mid- and low-income countries are often more vulnerable to eye conditions and vision problems.  

Why? For starters, limited financial resources to travel and receive care often prevents many women from seeking help in the first place. To make matters worse, the prospect of travelling long distances through difficult and remote terrain, often across areas known for wild animals and bandits, frequently prevents women and girls from seeking the health services they need. 

Our teams working in communities across Kenya have also seen first-hand how lower literacy rates among women leads to misinformation about eye conditions such as cataracts and trachoma. This misinformation leads to fear among patients, and this unfortunately results in women frequently refusing to seek care, as was the case for Esther. 

Here in Kenya, the painful bacterial infection trachoma leads to irreversible blindness if left without antibiotic treatment. This disease spreads through flies and close contact with hands and clothing. Because of their traditional gender roles caring for children in the home, women are more likely to contract this potentially devastating infection, compared to their male counterparts. For every man infected with trachoma, there are three women who are blind from or infected with this painful condition. 

Removing barriers to care 

I’m proud of the work we do at Operation Eyesight because I see with my own eyes the difference our work makes in the lives of moms like Esther. So much of the work we are doing in communities is focused on addressing the root causes of blindness, including equity for women and girls.  
 
Last year, we trained more than a thousand community health volunteers who will provide door-to-door eye health screening and health education within their own communities. More than 80 per cent of these volunteers are women. It’s this focus on women and girls that allows us to impact the lives of women like Esther.  

I believe that together, this is just one way that we are dismantling the barriers that prevent many women and girls from accessing health services, including eye health care as well as maternal and child health information and resources.   
 
By recruiting and training female health workers and volunteers within a community, we are creating a culture that empowers women and girls in ways that go far beyond vision loss and blindness.   

For Esther’s family, who felt the strain of providing constant care to her, the impact of this work has been palpable. 

“Restoring the sight of our grandmother has helped us very much,” says one of her grandchildren. “We are now free and can go for our daily activities with no worry of who is going to assist her.” 
 
This is why our work matters. This is why we celebrate Mother’s Day.  

Alice Mwangi is Operation Eyesight’s Country Director for Kenya, where she has played a critical role in the transformative work happening in communities across the country. In addition to raising her two daughters, Alice provides overall strategic direction and leadership for our programs in Kenya. To drive forward our mission to prevent blindness and restore sight, Alice develops valuable partnerships with hospitals, the Ministries of Health and Education and other nonprofit organizations.

The post Celebrating Heroes, Celebrating Moms  appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

The mother of six, who also has several grandkids, lost her husband several years ago, leaving her to support her burgeoning family on her own. She continued farming corn for income, but low grain prices meant she was barely able to sustain her family. 

When the government started recruiting health volunteers in her village, Salina’s name was put forward because of her involvement in community work. She was excited about the prospect, but worried when some community members pointed out her lack of a formal education.  

Eventually, she got the position and started training with Operation Eyesight as a community health volunteer. Now she does door-to-door eye health screenings throughout her region in Elgeyo Marakwet County.  

The stipend she receives from Operation Eyesight helps her feed her family and keep her kids in school. She looks forward to sending her daughter to college soon. 

At 56, Salina admits the job is not an easy one – she puts in long hours and walks long distances to complete her work. But she adds that her passion for helping people in the community keeps her going.  

She says that she was surprised one morning when a local cattle herder showed up on her doorstep at 6 a.m. He told her he was having trouble seeing, but couldn’t get to the hospital to have his eyes checked. She took a look and diagnosed him with cataracts, and promptly got him in for free treatment at a nearby Operation Eyesight surgical camp. She says whenever she sees the young man around town, he thanks her for her help. 

Salina says she’s also excited about everything she’s learning about health care.  

“The biggest benefit,” she explains, “is that I have been equipped with knowledge on how to take care of my health and that of my family.” 

She adds that despite the initial naysaying, her work has helped raise her profile as a trusted community member and that people now come to her to discuss issues the village is facing.  

Every year, Operation Eyesight trains hundreds of women as health workers and leaders in their own communities. This year on Mother’s Day, help moms like Salina support their families by making a donation or purchasing an eCard for your own mother, wife or another amazing woman in your life. 

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