Alice Mwangi is our country manager in Kenya, and she’s worked with Operation Eyesight for the last eight years.

We’re always excited for the chance to talk to our international team members because they have incredible experiences to share from their time in the field – and Alice had quite the story to tell!

Alice has seen how the work we do transforms the communities we help in Kenya. She told us that one reason Operation Eyesight is well-respected in the eye health sector by our partners and the governments we work with is because of our integrity.

“Our partners value us because they know that Operation Eyesight follows through,” she says. “Our partners trust us to do what we say we’re going to do, and that’s how we work together effectively.”

We wanted to know what Alice enjoyed most about her work on the ground, and this is what she told us:

“What I enjoy is being allowed to think creatively within the  Hospital-Based Community Eye Health Program’s framework. We’re encouraged to adapt the model to suit the community being served, based on their culture and infrastructure.

“Households appreciate being visited by community health workers. They can’t believe that nurses are coming to their doorstep to check on them and refer them for treatment.”

Alice’s passion for her work comes from her own experiences, seeing our work in person. She has witnessed how people’s lives completely changed after receiving sight-restoring treatment.

“One thing that really inspires me is seeing how many people’s lives are restored when sight is restored. Our team meets people who feel like they’ve been condemned to die because they’ve gone blind – they can’t work, they can’t participate in their communities and they feel hopeless. In so many cases they’re extremely isolated, and they don’t know where to go to seek help.

“So, when a community health worker comes to their door and tells them they can get their sight back, their faces light up with joy and hope. When they receive sight-restoring treatment, they’re reborn, and they have hope again. They can go back to working and participating in their community. It’s incredible to be a part of that.”

Alice told us that because so many of the communities we serve are so far away from the resources they need, patients need transport to and from our partner hospital or nearest vision centre. Sometimes the partner hospital will provide transport, but our staff have field vehicles specifically for the transportation of staff and patients.

In some cases, a village is too remote, and doesn’t have the necessary infrastructure to build a local vision centre. In those cases, it’s easier to set up an eye camp in a village and bring the ophthalmic staff to them. Community health workers go door-to-door, telling people about the eye camp and referring people who need a diagnosis.

It’s difficult to reach communities that are so far away and hard to access, but Alice is fueled by her passion and dedication to reach absolutely everyone with the quality eye care they need.

“One story that has stayed with me is about an older man who had gone completely blind. He lived in West Pokot, in a hilly region that’s incredibly remote. He had heard about Operation Eyesight, and his daughter walked with him to Lomut Health Center to seek treatment. The health center is a satellite facility for the Kapenguria Eye Unit. He told me he had walked 12 hours! I could hardly believe it. He had heard about Operation Eyesight and the work we do, and his desire to see again was enough to carry him through the long hours of walking to seek treatment.

“When he reached the health centre, he learned that he had been suffering from cataracts. Soon after, he received sight-restoring cataract surgery, and he was so excited! He couldn’t believe he had his sight back. 

“His treatment was completely paid for thanks to the support of our donors, and an Operation Eyesight shuttle bus was arranged to take him and his daughter home. The shuttle drove as far as possible before paying a local motorbike taxi to take them the rest of the way. In remote communities like his, there are no roads for traveling easily by car, and the most effective mode of transport is by motorbike. That’s how far away this man lived! Unfortunately, his circumstances aren’t unique. Many of the communities we serve are similarly remote and difficult to access. Even so, our team works hard to reach these communities to bring them quality eye care.

“I just remember how this man’s face lit up when the bandages were removed after his surgery! His smile stretched across his face, and he could SEE again. His many hours of walking were not in vain. With his sight restored, his independence and his hope were as well. It’s always inspiring to meet people like this man and see how their lives are transformed after eye surgery.”

We’re so proud to have Alice in the Operation Eyesight family!

And it’s people like YOU who make her work possible. Together we’re transforming entire communities through the gift of sight – For All The World To See!

The post A woman with a passion for restoring sight and transforming lives appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

How many times did you just sit there, gazing lovingly at your new baby, watching them sleep, so peacefully, so innocently?

I’m sure you remember the very first moment you laid eyes on your son or daughter. That first glimpse of my precious baby girl is a moment I hope I never forget.

It’s also a moment I’ve reflected on many times. And every time, I’m overwhelmed by a feeling of gratitude.

I’m so grateful that I can SEE my daughter and watch her grow. I see her raise and furrow her eyebrows as she concentrates intently on a new toy. I see her break into a giant smile when I arrive to pick her up from daycare. I see her father reflected in every little expression she makes.

I’m also incredibly grateful that she can SEE me. Sometimes, as I’m rocking with her before bed, she just stares up at me, her beautiful blue eyes piercing my soul. She’ll cradle my cheek in her little hand, just as I’ve done to her many times.

Living in Canada, I know that I’m fortunate to have access to quality health care, and fortunate that eye care is embedded in our health care system. I know all too well that this isn’t the case for millions of people around the world.

One of the very first decisions I had to make as a new mom was whether or not to give my daughter an eye antibiotic to help prevent infection, a routine procedure done right in the hospital after a baby is born. The fact that I even had the option is incredible.

When my daughter was six months old, I excitedly took her to the eye doctor for her first eye exam, which was provided free of cost. When she got her first case of pink eye, I was able to get her a prescription right away. Both times, I felt incredibly lucky to have these services available to me and my family.

Today, my toddler’s (I still can’t believe she’s a toddler already!) favourite accessory is her sunglasses, which she calls her “eyes”. Yes, my girl, you can wear your “eyes” every time we leave the house, as you insist. I’ve been taught how important it is to protect your eyes from the sun, and we’re fortunate to live in a country where we have access to affordable sunglasses and other eyewear.

As Mother’s Day approaches and I reflect on my journey as a new mom, I can’t help but think of the mothers living halfway around the world, suffering from avoidable blindness and trying so desperately to care for their families with limited vision. Many of them don’t know that help is available, or they can’t afford treatment. Often all they need is a simple cataract surgery to restore their sight, their dignity, their hope.

I also think of the moms who are helplessly watching their children suffer from avoidable blindness, worrying what kind of future they’ll have if they can’t see to go to school and someday find employment. Many don’t know that a pair of prescription eyeglasses could transform their child’s life forever.

While it can be easy to be overcome with guilt and sadness as I think of these mothers, I find comfort in knowing this: there is a solution, and I can help.

By supporting Operation Eyesight, I can help these mothers and their children. I can help community health workers screen families for eye health problems and refer patients for care. I can help Operation Eyesight’s partner hospitals provide cataract surgeries, prescription eyeglasses and other treatment free of charge for those in need.

I might never meet the families I am helping, but I know that, as a monthly donor to Operation Eyesight, I’m transforming lives, month after month, year after year.

You can help, too.

This Mother’s Day, I invite you to make a donation in honour of your mother and mothers everywhere. You can even send your mom (or sister, or mother-in-law, or grandma or daughter) a customized eCard when you give a gift in her name.

Every mother has the right to see her child, and every child has the right to see their mother.

Thank you for your support, and Happy Mother’s Day to all the amazing moms out there!

The post This one’s for all the moms out there… appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

Hira is 74 years old and lives in an ancient village in central Nepal with her husband and her son and his family.

The whole family depends on Hira’s son, who works as a labourer to make enough for them to get by. To help out, Hira gardens and sews clothing for the family, while taking care of her two granddaughters.

She was happy she could contribute at home, but she was able to help less and less over time, as her vision dimmed. She felt like there was some invisible film over her eyes that she couldn’t blink away, and it only got worse. Two years later, she was completely blind.

“I was too afraid to seek treatment,” says Hira. “My sister had cataract surgery done that left her blind, and she died blind. I was so afraid the same thing would happen to me.”

But our donors made it possible to help Hira through her fear.

Two community health workers arrived at Hira’s home and screened her eyes. They explained that her condition could be treated, and they counselled her on the procedures that would restore her sight. Then they referred her to an Operation Eyesight-established vision centre for examination.

Though she was afraid, Hira did go to the vision centre, where she was diagnosed with bilateral cataracts. She was then referred to Nepal Eye Hospital for surgery.

Hira still wasn’t convinced. “I was so afraid, but the community health workers introduced me to an older man who had received sight-restoring cataract surgery himself. His story calmed me, and finally I felt brave enough to get treated.”

Now, thanks to the support of eye health heroes like YOU, Hira’s sight has been restored!

“I am very happy about the treatment I received! Now I can do my daily activities on my own. My family can concentrate on their work, and I can help them when they need me.” 

Hira is now an eye health advocate in her own community! She is so grateful to the community health workers and the doctor who helped her regain her sight.

And most of all, she’s grateful to kind people like you who made it all possible!

Thank you so much for helping people like Hira get their lives back through the precious gift of sight! There are still thousands more women like Hira who need your help. Donate today and become an eye health hero.

The post From fearful blindness to joyous sight appeared first on Operation Eyesight.