Imagine going to school and not being able to access clean water. How would you stay hydrated? Stay clean and sanitary? Stay engaged in your learning?

“Water is life,” says Nene Kaunga. “In school, we teach learners the importance of water and the sources of water.”

The school’s deputy head teacher goes on to explain that the borehole saves them from walking long distances to fetch water and may provide the only safe drinking water that some of their rural students have access to throughout the day.

Operation Eyesight, with help from our generous donors, installed the borehole in 2008 to help prevent the spread of trachoma. The spread of this infectious disease, which causes vision loss, eye pain and eventually blindness, can be prevented with frequent hand and face washing. For that, you need safe, clean water.

“Hygienically, this water is very safe,” says Nene. “We’ve never had any child who has suffered from waterborne diseases as a result of drinking this water.”

On site access to clean water enables the Gift of Sight for students, but there are even more ripple effects. Since the borehole was installed, teachers have seen more girls enrolling and staying in school. And they’re no longer staying home from school during their periods, thanks to the fresh water, soap and pads the school provides.

As well as tending to an orchard and vegetable garden, the students also use the water to wash their hands and faces, clean the latrines and, on Fridays, mop their classrooms.

The ability to attend school and without the barrier of unsafe water provides not only the Gift of Sight for students in our areas of work, but also a life with endless potential.

Please give the Gift of Sight today.

The post Clean water provides the Gift of Sight to Zambia school appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

For her parents, who live with their daughter in a small village in West Bengal, India, it’s the unmistakable way Misba’s eyes now light up when she looks up at them.

It wasn’t always this way. Her father, Mahabul, and mother, Ruku, say worsening vision issues made it impossible for Misba to read a book without great difficulty, and their usually happy daughter often became irritated during play and at school.

Sadly, financial hardship prevented them from seeking help for their daughter. 

When an Operation Eyesight health worker knocked on the family’s door, it was a turning point in the little girl’s life. After screening Misba’s eyes, the health worker identified her with myopia – better known as nearsightedness. She was referred to the Operation Eyesight vision centre near her home and partner hospital Siliguri Greater Lions Eye Hospital, where she received an eye exam and a pair of corrective eyeglasses. 

Today, Misba is thriving in school and happily playing with her friends.

Vision loss: the world’s most unaddressed disability

Almost everyone on the planet will experience an eye health issue in their lifetime. Although 90 per cent of vision loss is treatable or preventable, today more than a billion people still don’t have access to eye care services to correct, treat or prevent vision loss.

“In communities where we work across sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, untreated vision loss often closes the door to getting an education, particularly for girls, who are disproportionately impacted by eye health problems,” explains Kashinath Bhoosnurmath, our President and CEO.

“Thanks to the generosity of our donors, we are not only providing prescription eyeglasses and life-changing surgery to those who need it – we are also transforming entire communities.”

Together, we are creating a world where quality, affordable and inclusive eye health care is available for everyone, everywhere. We are also improving people’s overall health and well-being, bringing local access to clean water and sanitation, and improving equality for women and girls, who are more likely to suffer poor vision and less likely to get treatment.  

The Gift of Sight: the gift that keeps on giving

By giving the Gift of Sight this holiday season, you can give a child like Misba the chance to learn and thrive.

You can give a parent the ability to provide for their family and care for their children.

You can give a senior the gift of independence.

Misba’s parents say they are grateful for the care she received at their local vision centre and for the health worker doing door-to-door eye health screening in their community. 

Most of all, they are relieved that they have their joyful, bright-eyed daughter back. Misba’s smile says it all!

Please give the Gift of Sight today, so you can restore sight for more children like Misba tomorrow.

The post Restoring sight, transforming communities appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

It was about a decade ago and I was visiting a school as part of my work with Operation Eyesight. The room was loud – full of the sound of children’s laughter and small, yet confident, voices. I stood at the front of the class and asked questions of India’s next generation of Ieaders. What did they know about taking care of their eyes? What did they know about India? When I asked who the current President was there was an uproar in the class, as each child jumped out of their seat, hand up, shouting. The headteacher and I nodded in approval and applauded the unanimous response.

I carried on and asked who the current Vice President was, but this time the room fell silent. As I was opening my mouth to say the answer, a loud voice bellowed through the classroom, but it wasn’t from any of the students… “Mohammad Hamid Ansari!” the voice beckoned. The students glanced around the room, curious to know which of their peers had remembered the answer, but this time no hands were raised. The answer had come from outside, which I didn’t think much of at the time. A parent had probably been listening in and shouted the answer.

Asking the children their aspirations in life prompted the standard answers – teacher, accountant, police officer, Vice President of India. “Vice President of India!” I exclaimed, “That’s a big job, but if anyone can manage that, it’s you. Why do you want to be the Vice President?” I asked. “Because that’s the only position available!” the boy responded, eliciting laughter from the whole room.

As I was leaving the school, I noticed a young girl washing dishes by the side of the building. I felt drawn to her, as if we were meant to meet. “Did I get it right?” she asked. It was then I realized it had been her who yelled into the classroom.

I asked why she was not in school. Her eyes didn’t work like the other kids’, she explained, so her parents withdrew her and instead she stayed home and helped with chores.

I was immensely saddened by her story and became determined to help. I visited the girl’s family, explained my role at Operation Eyesight and directed her and her father to one of our partner hospitals where she received a complimentary eye exam and a pair of glasses. When I followed up with the hospital, I was told that the moment this girl put her glasses on, she began smiling, laughing, and talking about returning to school immediately.

This young girl’s story inspired not only me, but others in the area as well, demonstrating that they, too, can and deserve to have the Gift of Sight and the positive outcomes it can bring – pride, the ability to learn and work, and the possibility of achieving whatever they can dream.

Although I do not know where this little girl ended up, I know she learned that her voice gave her the power to overcome obstacles and live up to her true potential as the intelligent and deserving person she is – in the classroom and beyond. And who knows? Maybe she will become the next Vice President of India.

There are still many other children and families in need of the Gift of Sight. I invite you to help more kids achieve their potential by giving the Gift of Sight in the name of a loved one this holiday season.

Kashinath Bhoosurmath
President & CEO

Donate Today

The post Access to eye health care provides children with the gift of education and the ability to achieve their potential appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

“It’s a dream come true,” she smiles.

Growing up, Joana remembers her grandmother going blind but not seeking treatment because blindness was believed to be caused by spirits.

“If they knew about eye services, they wouldn’t have gone blind,” she says.

Now in her final year at the Ophthalmic Nursing School in Korle-Bu, Accra, Joana says she is most excited that her presence in her community will have an impact on the health and quality of life of her neighbours as well as Ghana’s health system.

“Becoming an ophthalmic nurse will help improve the state of human resources for eye health in Ghana, especially in my district of Awutu Senya, where the need for eye health services is very high,” Joana explains. “The people at the community level will have quality eye care services at their doorsteps.”

Joana says that after her schooling she will return to her district and provide eye health care in her own community.

“They are expecting much from me, because in the whole district there is no eye nurse and there is no clinic apart from Watborg Eye Services.”

Her school, Ghana’s only institute of its kind, recently upgraded from providing diplomas to awarding academic degrees, thanks to Operation Eyesight in partnership with the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness. It’s a step up for Joana and her whole community.

“This will enhance my career in the health service,” Joana adds. “I’m extremely grateful to Operation Eyesight for funding my studies.”

If you like reading stories like Joana’s, make sure you are subscribed to receive our emails so you don’t miss out.

The post Meet our people: Joana Annobil appeared first on Operation Eyesight.