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.

As in our Kenyan projects, we’re also implementing the full SAFE strategy in our work in Zambia, with 2016 seeing great progress in these programs. We successfully drilled 22 boreholes in Sinazongwe, bringing our total number of boreholes in the district to 96. These boreholes serve as many as 48,000 people, or 40 percent of the district population. It’s amazing what one borehole can do!

In 2016, we concentrated our efforts in Mweenda, the largest ward in Sinazongwe district. Our goal is to declare Mweenda trachoma blindness-free by the end of 2017!

To establish each borehole program, we partnered with the Ministry of Health and local Water Affairs Department; identified a viable location; drilled the borehole; analyzed the water quality; monitored and evaluated the program; trained the village water committee; and educated the community on sanitation, eye health and general health.

We also trained and equipped 30 local villagers as pump minders, who repaired 15 dysfunctional boreholes originally drilled by other international NGOs. The pump minders now have the knowledge to maintain the boreholes in their communities, which will ensure our trachoma programs are sustainable.

In partnership with the Ministry of Health, we conducted our third Mass Drug Administration of antibiotics to treat and prevent the spread of trachoma infection. Distribution coverage of the antibiotic was 95 percent, and we reached many small islands in Lake Kariba, where children and adults received antibiotics for the first time.

Not only has implementation of the SAFE strategy helped prevent blindness, but it has also provided other important benefits. Improved sanitation has reduced other serious illnesses such as malaria, diarrheal diseases, upper respiratory infections and skin diseases.

By preventing the chronic recurrence of trachoma in children, and by eliminating the need for children to travel long distances to fetch household water before going to school, we’ve contributed to an increase in school attendance for both girls and boys. The presence of water close by has led to the construction of schools, encouraging teachers to accept postings at these schools!

Established water points have also reduced the number of human-animal conflicts. With a safe water source nearby, people are no longer at risk of crocodiles or other animal predators that may be lurking in rivers or lakes.

And finally, a reliable water source has given communities the ability to irrigate crops, grow vegetable gardens and raise healthier livestock, thus improving nutrition and providing a means to earn an income.

Not only are you helping restore sight, you’re helping improve quality of life for thousands!

We’re so grateful for everything people like you are making possible. Together we have changed millions of lives, and together we can change millions more! Please help us continue with our fight against avoidable blindness, and consider making a gift through our Gift Guide. No gift is too small! Together we can eliminate avoidable blindness – For All the World to See!

The post 2016 was an incredible year in Zambia – Thanks to you! appeared first on Operation Eyesight.