In a small village in Bangladesh, 60-year-old Gulbahar lives alone and supports herself. She works as a maid, stretching every ounce of strength to make it through each day.
Her world grew darker as cataracts began to cloud her vision and left her nearly blind. Everyday things like walking through crowded streets, cooking with the right spices and finding her way around her home became uncertain and difficult.
Despite the challenges, her spirit stayed strong as she searched for the right eye health treatment, only to discover that the surgery she needed was far beyond what she could afford.
One day she heard about a nearby outreach eye care camp by Operation Eyesight. Gulbahar made her way to the camp and embraced the chance for cataract surgery.
She received cataract surgery at no cost. When the bandages were removed, she smiled.
"I can see my world again,” she said. “I don’t need to stumble in the dark anymore. I’ve been given a second chance.”
Today Gulbahar is back on her feet. She works and moves through her days with confidence and no longer depends on others. Her restored vision gave her more than sight. It gave her freedom.
But stories like Gulbahar’s are far too common.
You can help change that. Your contribution provides people with the knowledge and resources they need to regain their vision and independence.
By giving the Gift of Sight, you can help prevent blindness, restore sight and create second chances for more people like Gulbahar. Thank you for your support!
Horibala, from the village of Godashimla, Bangladesh, likes to keep busy. The 65-year-old finds joy and motivation in her favourite pastimes: sewing and travel.
But for years, she was unable to enjoy these activities as her eyes clouded over with cataracts.
“I couldn’t see at all,” she recalls. “Even when I closed one eye to see anything, it was blurry. I felt helpless.”
As her eyesight faded, she found herself depending on others for almost everything. Simple tasks like washing clothes, making a meal or even lighting the cooking stove were impossible.
Things turned around for Horibala after a visit from an optometrist from the Madarganj Vision Centre, run by our partners at Symbiosis International, who was doing a door-to-door survey. The optometrist referred Horibala to our partner institute, the Dr. K. Zaman BNSB Eye Hospital in the nearby city of Mymensingh, for bilateral cataract surgery.
Thanks to the generous support of donors like you, her sight was finally restored.
The medication she received at her follow-up appointments relieved the discomfort of watery eyes after surgery. Soon, she regained her ability to see.
“Now, I can do everything. There’s a big difference between being able to see and not seeing at all,” she says. “For the past year, I’ve been able to work, sew and even travel. My life feels normal again.”
Now overflowing with gratitude for her regained sight, Horibala acts as an advocate in her community, encouraging people to take care of their eyes.
“I tell everyone: if you have an eye problem, don’t wait. Go to this hospital and get treated immediately. Being able to see again is priceless!”
Donate today to help more people like Horibala see clearly again!
As a community health volunteer, 28-year-old Faizunnahar spends her days bringing primary eye health care to the doorsteps of families who live in her area. She enjoys her job, but she knows that not everyone in her community approves of her work. In rural Bangladesh, where Faizunnahar lives, job opportunities for women are often limited by societal norms, and those who step outside of traditional roles often face criticism.
Nevertheless, with her family’s support, the young volunteer persists. She loves making an impact in her community, and she is proud to contribute to the family finances through the monthly stipend she earns. She is determined to build a better life for herself, her family and their young son.
Working with our partner organization, Symbiosis International, Faizunnahar goes door to door in nearby communities doing preliminary eye screenings and referring those with vision problems to the nearby Madarganj Vision Centre.
As a child, Faizunnahar remembers her father struggling with an eye problem. To get it treated, he had to travel from their village of Ruknai to the capital city Dhaka, nearly 200 kilometres away. His difficulties in getting treatment for his vision problems stayed with her and would later inspire her to seek out work in the healthcare sector.
When she first heard about the opportunity to become a community health volunteer, Faizunnahar worked quickly to reach out to a contact and put together a resume. After writing an exam, she was excited to learn she got the job. Since then, she has worked in maternal, newborn and child health, as well as primary eye care, for which we provided the training. She is proud of her achievements and says her greatest joy comes from knowing that her work is helping transform lives.
This International Women’s Day, we celebrate the thousands of women like Faizunnahar who are breaking barriers to help us deliver essential eye health care at the community level. As community health workers/volunteers, they have an opportunity to become leaders in their communities and act as catalysts for positive health outcomes. This employment improves their ability to become active participants in their family’s socioeconomic stability.
You can help support our mission to achieve gender equality in eye health care by sharing this post with friends and family, by learning more about the issues or by making a donation.
For the past three years, headaches and watery red eyes were a constant reality for Tonnima, from a village in northern Bangladesh.
The 22-year-old works as a beautician and hopes to someday go to college, but vision trouble has meant difficulty reading, working and doing daily tasks at home.
“I thought that my sight problems would lead to bigger eye troubles in the future, which would affect my life,” she reflects.
Like many women in South Asia who face social barriers to seeking healthcare, Tonnima was embarrassed to tell others about her vision problems. She says her family felt helpless and anxious.
Tonnima was grateful to learn that there was a vision centre just a kilometre away from her home, where she received an eye exam, a pair of prescription glasses and eye medication.
The impact has been life changing.
“I’m very happy now, as I can see everything clearly and can do my regular work, and read and write,” Tonnima says.
“I hope to live a happy and prosperous life.”
Donate today to help make more dreams come true.
When six-year-old Piu began experiencing painful watery, red eyes, blurred vision and headaches, her mother, Sathi, and father, Dipongok, were understandably worried.
“I felt sad that others could read and write in class while my child was unable to do that,” Sathi says.
Piu, who lives with her parents and four-year-old brother in Bangladesh, began losing interest in her studies.
Anxious and helpless, Piu’s parents feared what their daughter’s future might look like.
During a community screening at Piu’s school, our local health workers referred her to a vision centre less than a kilometre from her home, where she received prescription eyeglasses and medication for her eyes.
With Piu’s vision restored, her parents say they no longer worry about her future and are confident their daughter will thrive at school.
World Sight Day (WSD) is an annual day of awareness and advocacy held on the second Thursday of October to focus global attention on the causes and consequences of vision impairment. This year, on October 8, Operation Eyesight celebrated #HopeinSight across our global offices in South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and North America. We called our event Around the World Sight Day.
Our outreach in South Asia spans India, Nepal and Bangladesh. In celebration of World Sight Day, our team inaugurated thirteen vision centers across four states in India. Each vision centre will serve a population of approximately 50,000 and support two female community health workers from their local communities. We also opened a vision centre in Bangladesh. In our live interview with our India country manager, Anup Zimba, he shares that “vision centres are the solution to accessibility.” We are pleased to be able to bring them in remote communities in need of eye care.
In Nepal, in partnership with the Nepal Eye Hospital of Kathmandu, Operation Eyesight launched the Nepal Mobile Eye Unit. Equipped to identify cataract and other eye conditions, the Mobile Eye Unit will be used for primary screening programs in some of the most remote areas of Nepal. Patients will receive eye treatment and transportation free of charge. Coined “Vision on Wheels,” the vehicle will bring quality eye care to four suburbs of the Kathmandu Valley and three to four districts around and nearing Kathmandu.
Hosting outreach eye screening camps reduces some of the barriers to accessing eye care, such as lack of transportation or child care. On WSD, our team in Zambia was able to host our first eye screening camp of the COVID-19 pandemic. Following increased hygiene practices and social distancing, community members were screened for eye infections. They were then referred for treatment or provided with eye glasses if necessary. Members of the community were very excited that eye screenings camps are resuming after six months of lockdown. Screening camps raise awareness and encourage communities to focus on eye health as a priority. Paul Mpundu Kulya, our Zambia Project Coordinator, notes “one thing I know is that blindness can be avoided, it is unacceptable that people should go blind due to avoidable causes. Eye health needs to be a priority just like conditions such as malaria and tuberculosis.”
While outreach camps were on hold during the lockdown, our Zambia team continued our work in eliminating blinding trachoma by focusing on WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene). They were able to rehabilitate 145 dysfunctional boreholes to provide clean water to over 35,000 people. The ripple effect of bringing clean water close to communities is profound. Many children, especially girls, are forced out of school due to lack of clean water, latrines and sanitary facilities. By restoring access to clean water, Operation Eyesight was able to help with preventative measures against COVID-19 and trachoma, and provide a positive effect to entire communities.
In Kenya, we were able to conduct screening camps and we shared the journey of Michael, who benefited from our program. During the week of the screening camp, a community health worker identified Michael as completely blind due to cataracts. Michael has suffered from avoidable blindness for three years. He was forced to quit his job as a watchman and was reliant on friends and neighbours for food. As a result of our outreach camps, Michael was referred to one of our partner hospitals, where he received sight restorative surgery. Michael has regained his independence and is looking for a job in his community. Outreach camps provide access and give hope to those needlessly suffering from avoidable blindness.
In honor of WSD, our team in Ghana hosted an eye screening camp. We were also able to open our first vision centre in Awutu Senya. This will help bring quality eye care closer to those in need. Additionally, we interviewed our Technical Advisor located in Ghana, Dr. Boateng Wiafe. With over 35 years of experience in eye care, Dr. Wiafe provided key insight into the importance of eye health. He emphasized that “eyesight is one of the most important senses we have, in fact, 80 percent of what we perceive comes through the sense of sight.” Even more so, “the eyes are the window of the body,” and much can be determined about overall health by diagnosing eye conditions.
By protecting our eyes, we reduce the odds of blindness and vision loss while also staying on top of any developing disease. He recommends that after the age of 40, everyone should get their eyes checked at least once every other year. Prevention and priority are key.
Our global celebrations of WSD highlighted the incredible work being done by Operation Eyesight and our partners around the world. We know that eye health is essential to thriving communities and that 80 percent of eye health problems are avoidable or treatable. Prioritizing eye health and reducing the barrier of accessibility can lead to profound results. We are so grateful to donors who have helped make our work possible, and we are pleased to highlight the impact their gifts are contributing to. There is #HopeInSight in ending avoidable blindness, join us today!
*This year make eye health a priority and pledge to get your eyes tested.
