When his vision started to blur, Stenwell didn’t think much of it at first. He figured it was just a symptom of his age and a normal part of growing older.

But he became increasingly concerned as his vision deteriorated over the next three years. He realized something was very wrong, but with his family’s difficult financial situation, he knew he couldn’t afford to seek treatment. Without any options, Stenwell feared his blindness was a punishment from God.

This is where someone just like you stepped in to help. Thanks to our donors’ support, our partner, Bansara Eye Care, held an eye screening camp in Stenwell’s community. Operation Eyesight-trained  community health workers went out into the village to inform everyone that there would be an eye screening camp. They reached every household, including  Stenwell’s.

“When the health worker explained that I could get help for my condition, I was filled with new hope,” says Stenwell.

At the eye camp, Stenwell was diagnosed with cataracts in both eyes. He was told that two simple surgeries could restore his sight, and that the surgeries would be free of charge.

“I was anxious about the surgery, but the community health worker explained that the surgeries would be minor procedures that would help me see clearly again,” recalls Stenwell. “They were patient with me, and I felt I could trust them fully.”

For Stenwell, it was like magic to SEE again after receiving surgery. People like you made that possible! Stenwell was reached through our community eye health program and received the treatment he needed for free.

“I am extremely thankful to the people who helped me see again,” says Stenwell. “Coming from a humble family I never thought that I could get hope for my vision. Had it not been for the community health workers and the doctors of Bansara Eye Care, I could’ve gone blind permanently.”

Stenwell is now back to playing with his grandchild and helping his family with the farming, while taking time to garden when he wants to relax. His life has been transformed and he’s regained his independence, all because of our donors. Thank you!

There are thousands of people like Stenwell waiting for people like you to help restore their sight. YOU can change lives like Stenwell’s with a donation today!

The post People like you are making magic happen with the gift of sight! appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

What would you do if you had an eye condition that was easily treated with a 15-minute surgery? You’d accept treatment, wouldn’t you?

Maya suffered with cataracts for a year, to the point that she was forced to stop doing the things she loved, like making garlands in her free time and spending time with her family. Eventually, she was forced to stop working too.

This wasn’t just difficult for Maya. Her whole family works as daily wage labourers on a farm in a small village in Lalitpur, Nepal.

Living with her husband, son, daughter-in-law and young grandson means that every day is a struggle to put food on the table. The family depends on each other’s wages to afford their living. So when one family member becomes disabled, the whole family suffers from the loss.

Months before, Maya had been diagnosed with cataract and referred for surgery at the nearest hospital, but Maya was afraid. “I was scared because I thought it would hurt,” says Maya. She was also worried about the cost, and though she was told that she needed surgery, she didn’t go through with it. “I didn’t tell my son or daughter-in-law about my eyes because I knew they couldn’t afford it.”

But she couldn’t ignore her need forever. Maya was bumping into things, and she needed help just to perform basic tasks at home.

It got so bad that one day she couldn’t even recognize the faces of her friends and family anymore. Unable to do the things she loved, or see her family’s faces, Maya grew more and more sad by the day.

“I was fearful that I would have to live a dark life, being a burden on my family,” says the 76-year-old woman. “But I didn’t think anything could be done to help me since I was already so far along in years.”

Then a few months later a knock came on Maya’s door that would change her life!

Two community health workers trained by Operation Eyesight stood at Maya’s doorstep. They screened her eyes, and immediately referred her to our partner, the Nepal Eye Hospital, for treatment at no cost to her and her family. With the financial barrier out of the way, Maya decided to face her fear and underwent sight-restoring cataract surgery!

Now that she can see, she’s thrilled to be back at work, and she can see the faces of her friends and family again. “I’m so happy now I can contribute to my family and make my garlands again.” Maya says joyfully. “And even better, I am so happy to have my sight back so one day I can watch my grandson get married. Even though I was scared before, now I tell everyone to go have their eyes checked.”

“Now I can see my family living happily, not having to worry about me anymore, and I am so grateful. I want to thank to doctors for painless surgical treatment and restoring my vision. I want to thank the community health worker from the bottom of my heart, and thank you so much to the generous donors who made it possible for community health workers to reach me and refer me for treatment!”

It’s thanks to incredible people like you that Maya was helped. But there are thousands more people like Maya who need access to quality eye health care. Please consider making a donation today and help us give the Gift of Sight to many more – For All The World To See!

The post A woman’s wish to see her family happy comes true! appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

Nadupoi’s right eye wouldn’t stop tearing up. It was like she was crying all the time, even though she wasn’t. It hurt badly for so long. She could barely stand to open her eye.

Even so, there wasn’t much Nadupoi could do. Her younger siblings looked up to her, and her mother depended on her help every day around the house, and to fetch water for the family at the community borehole which was within walking distance. The borehole was a great improvement on how things used to be in Nadupoi’s village, and she was glad for it. Especially now with her painful eye infection.

A few years ago, Nadupoi, her mother and her sister had to walk to the river, three kilometers away, to fetch water. But in 2009, Operation Eyesight worked with government partners to have a borehole developed for their community. She was grateful for the easy access to clean and accessible water… but she still wished her eye would stop hurting.

Not only that, Nadupoi also had school to worry about. With her eye always watering, her classmates nicknamed her “Cry Baby.”

It was awful. There wasn’t any part of her life that wasn’t affected by the pain. Even her favourite hobby was affected. Nadupoi loved football. She loved to play with her friends, and she was very good at it. But one day she had to stop when going outside proved excruciating for her.

She had to stop playing and go home.

Nadupoi’s family was terribly concerned.

“We’ll take you to the local doctor and get you treated,” her mother told her.

The doctor who saw her prescribed allergy medication, and it did help ease the burning a little. For a minute or two. But it wasn’t long before the searing pain in her eye flared back up to take over her life each time.

It was too much. Nadupoi couldn’t do anything without being in great pain anymore. She gave up. She stopped going to school, and she stopped leaving the house.

Her parents didn’t know what to do. The medication wasn’t helping, and seeing their daughter’s condition worsen made them fear for her future.

“I fear someone has put a curse on our daughter,” Nadupoi heard her mother tell her father one evening. “What more can we do but be here for her when she becomes blind? None of the medication has worked…”

One day, Nadupoi’s aunt told her that a community health volunteer trained by Operation Eyesight had come to their village to announce there would be an eye camp happening soon. Her aunt told Nadupoi she should go there, that when she had trouble with her eyes, she had received help, and maybe Nadupoi could be helped too.

She really hoped so.

The day of the eye camp finally came, and Nadupoi braved the excruciating pain in her eye to go to the screening, hoping against hope that she would finally get some good news. The eye health volunteer examined her eyes, and it didn’t take very long for her to tell Nadupoi that she had a disease called “trachoma,” which she explained was a bacterial eye infection that caused the lashes to turn inwards and scrape mercilessly against her eyeball.

“You’re lucky,” The volunteer told her, smiling. “Your sight can still be saved with surgery.”

Nadupoi’s mother was worried about the cost, but the volunteer reassured her, saying that the costs would be covered by Operation Eyesight and their partner, the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust.

“Are they going to take out my eyes to cure me?” Nadupoi asked the volunteer, afraid.

The volunteer laughed. “No, of course not! Your eyes will be staying snug in your head. Don’t you worry.”

Soon after, Nadupoi received surgery at Operation Eyesight’s partner hospital, the Mararianda dispensary in Narok County.

“I feel like a hero with this eye patch on!” Nadupoi exclaimed to her mother on the ride home after receiving her surgery.

Time has passed since then, and today Nadupoi can see again. Her eye doesn’t cause her pain, and her life has returned to normal. She can go back to school, and she hopes to study to become a doctor like the ones who treated her one day!

She’s also become an advocate for eye health at home. She washes her face daily with clean water and soap and ensures her siblings do the same.

“Trachoma is easy to prevent if we keep our faces and environment clean,” Nadupoi tells her siblings. “And don’t forget to take the trachoma antibiotics whenever they are distributed at school!”

Nadupoi says she’ll be forever grateful for having her sight restored. “I’d like to give thanks to God and the doctors for diagnosing me correctly and giving me proper treatment. I would also like to thank the community health volunteer for visiting us at home and making sure I recovered well. And of course, thank you to Operation Eyesight and your donors for the financial support! If it were not for you, I guess I’d be blind by now. I’m so happy I can go back to living my life like normal!”

It’s amazing what access to eye health care and clean water can do, isn’t it? If you’re lucky, you’re like me and don’t have to think twice about where to get your eyes treated, and if you need clean water it’s just a few steps away to the nearest tap for you. But for young girls like Nadupoi living in Kenya, these amenities are scarce and a blessing. The support of people like you saved Nadupoi’s sight, and with your help, we can save many more suffering from trachoma. Donate to our trachoma program today and give the Gift of Sight… For All The World To See!

The post A life threatened by trachoma was saved, thanks to your support! appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

Today we want to tell you the story of Jay, a 60-year-old man living in Lalitpur, Nepal with his wife and children. Jay and his family are poor, and they live in a small cottage. He does some farming and he owns a small shop.

Over time, Jay’s vision started to fade. He and his family didn’t know what to do because they didn’t think his condition could be treated. Jay’s family wanted to help him, but they couldn’t afford the treatment. What’s more, the nearest hospital was 12 km away, and he had no vehicle to get there.

“I was unable to do my daily activities. I couldn’t even recognize my friends and family anymore.” 

Because Jay was the breadwinner of the family, losing his sight not only made it impossible for him to do the work he needed to do, it also affected the household income.

With his vision deteriorating, and his income with it, he didn’t know what to do. What would happen if he couldn’t provide for his family?

One day, a community health worker trained by Operation Eyesight was doing a door-to-door survey and came to Jay’s cottage. The health worker screened the family for their eye health, and diagnosed Jay’s condition on the spot. He had cataract in both eyes! When the health worker told Jay that his condition was treatable, he could barely believe it.

“Finding out that I could be cured was awful! I knew my family couldn’t afford treatment. We didn’t have the money to pay.”

But thanks to the incredible generosity of people like you, Jay was treated at Operation Eyesight’s partner, the Nepal Eye Hospital, free of cost to him and his family!

Now, Jay can see again… and with his vision restored, he’s become independent and able to do his daily work. He’s even started a small teashop!

“Without the support of the health worker, we wouldn’t have known that I could be treated. We used to think that my vision loss was because I was getting on in age, and I didn’t think I would ever see again.” 

Jay is so grateful for the help he received. Now he knows he can support his family financially and emotionally.

“I am feeling better now that I can see things clearly. It feels like I’ve been born again!” 

Generous donors like YOU made this possible. Your support helped turn Jay’s life around. And Jay can’t say thank you enough.

“I’m very thankful to the community health worker and the eye hospital for everything they did for me throughout my treatment, and I want to thank the donors who made it possible for me to be treated!”

Your support means the world to people like Jay, but there are thousands of others like him who still need your help. Please consider donating to our cataract surgery program to give more people the Gift of Sight and hope for a brighter future!

The post Sight restored is like being born again appeared first on Operation Eyesight.