“The gift of eyesight is the best thing you can give to anybody. It just changes their whole world,” he says. “You can make donations for food and things like that, but it disappears after two days. Eyesight stays forever.”

The longtime donor first heard about Operation Eyesight as a member of the India Club of Vancouver. The group raised more than $100,000 for our programs over the years through annual walkathons in Stanley Park, with Vijay overseeing the event during his years as club president.

Supporting Operation Eyesight has also been a family affair for the Vermas, with Vijay’s wife, Shiksha, and their three grown children all involved in fundraising activities. Now, a third generation is also making a difference. In the past few years, two of the Verma’s grandchildren raised $575 apiece through online fundraising campaigns.

Thank you, Vijay and family, for your incredible support!

The post A Vancouver donor’s dedication to the Gift of Sight appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

So when Junmoni, a handloom weaver, started having trouble with her vision, she knew her livelihood was in peril.

The mother of two lives in Chakala, a village near the Brahmaputra River in Assam, northeast India. Her husband works as a day labourer, which offers little financial stability. As a result, Junmoni’s weaving is the family’s primary source of income.

As her vision faltered, Junmoni was producing less and less cloth. She worried about the fates of her two children, nine-year-old Sarna and 13-year-old Sanjib. Her hope of keeping them in school and sending them off to higher education dwindled as the family’s situation became more and more precarious. She even considered selling off her weaving equipment to bring some money into the household.

A knock on the door changed everything for her.

Earlier this year, an Operation Eyesight community health worker showed up at Junmoni’s doorstep as part of a community-wide screening program. After Junmoni described her vision problems, she was referred to a free screening camp happening in her neighbourhood. Without needing to leave her village, Junmoni was diagnosed with near vision, and received a pair of free prescription eyeglasses.

She marvels at the difference a pair of eyeglasses can make. “It’s exciting how a small thing can change the world,” she says.

Today, she is back at her handloom supporting her family, her dreams of sending young Sarna and Sanjib off to college once again intact.

The post Vision restored, hope renewed for mother in India appeared first on Operation Eyesight.