At 13 years old, Erasmus is like many other boys his age: tall, gangly and a little bit shy. He says he’d like to be a soldier when he grows up.

While joining the military seems achievable, that dream was nearly shattered for Erasmus a few years ago, when an accident threatened both his vision – and his future.

It all started one evening back in 2019. Erasmus’ mother, Joyce, was inside their home in the rural community of Essiam, in Ghana’s Central Region, when she suddenly heard shouts coming from outside, where Erasmus was playing with friends. She rushed outside and found her son clutching his eye in pain. His friends told her that something had flown through the air and hit him hard in the eye.

Initially, Joyce treated Erasmus at home with some over-the-counter eye drops, but after going to school the next day, he said he was still feeling a lot of pain. His teacher recommended Joyce take him to the hospital to get it checked out.

Joyce took him to the nearest hospital, and the doctor there referred them to the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in the capital city, Accra. He also advised her to make sure that nothing happens to Erasmus’ other eye, as he worried that the boy might lose sight entirely on the injured side – advice that shook Joyce to the core. She imagined her son’s future melting away, along with his eyesight.

As a single mother running a small hair-braiding salon, Joyce was overwhelmed by the cost and logistics of travelling to Accra. Eventually, she got some money together and they went to the hospital. A doctor examined Erasmus and told Joyce the damage to his eye was very serious and that he would need surgery.

But Joyce couldn’t afford the surgery. She tried everything – asking family for help, borrowing what she could – but it was never enough.

In the meantime, Erasmus continued to have pain and irritation and couldn’t see much out of the affected eye. Joyce, tears spilling from her own eyes as she remembers that bleak period, says she was terrified for her son and felt completely alone in dealing with the problem.

Then, in 2023, she learned that a charity had visited Erasmus’ school and had checked on the students’ eyes. She rushed down to the school and learned that Erasmus had been identified as a student in need of a referral for a more thorough diagnosis.

That eye charity was, of course, Operation Eyesight, working in tandem with the ministries of health and education, and our partner hospital, Watborg Eye Services, in Awutu Breku. Erasmus got a referral to Watborg, where he received a thorough eye exam.

Joyce learned that her son’s injury had developed into a cataract. A traumatic cataract happens when an eye injury disrupts the lens fibers – leading to a clouding of the lens. Up to 1.6 million people lose sight to eye injuries each year.

Erasmus was scheduled for surgery in two weeks’ time. And although Joyce was told that the surgery would be provided free of charge, she couldn’t quite believe it and continued to worry about the costs.

Two weeks later, Joyce and Erasmus returned to Watborg for the cataract surgery. Doctors told her the operation went well, and they kept Erasmus in hospital for another couple days to allow the eye to heal.

To Joyce’s relief, she learned that the surgery was in fact done free of charge, made possible through our School Eye Health Project supported by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Charities. The project covered all other expenses, including transportation, meals, the hospital stay and post-surgical appointments.

Due to the complexity of Erasmus’ injury, it would take him additional time to recover than most cataract patients. For weeks after the operation, Joyce anxiously asked, “Can you see yet?” The answer was always no — until one day, Erasmus burst into her salon shouting, “Ma, I can see! I can see!”

Erasmus now wears prescription glasses to school, his future once again in focus. Joyce, deeply moved, says she’s forever grateful to Operation Eyesight and our partners for restoring her son’s sight, and her hope.

As always, we are gearing up for a variety of World Sight Day events, including eye screenings, awareness marches and more. The global celebration is an opportunity to spread awareness about the importance of eye health. It’s also a chance for us to stand with our partners to call on policy makers all over the globe to make eye care accessible and affordable for everyone by providing universal health care that includes eye care.

This year, get your youngest family members involved by participating in our World Sight Day Wellness Bingo, an activity that challenges kids to take care of their eyes. Download your copy today.

When I first met Mary*, she told me how she had been blind since 2012. She had started losing her vision when she was very young – when she was a new bride and expecting her first child. Living in a rural area, far from any hospitals, she went to a traditional healer for help but continued to lose her sight. People whispered that she must have been doing witchcraft that backfired on her… asking what else could explain blindness in someone so young. Believing the witchcraft rumours, Mary’s husband left her before the baby was born. Her family abandoned her too. The only person who helped Mary was her niece, who has been supporting her and her child all this time.

When the niece heard that Operation Eyesight was offering free eye exams, she brought Mary to a surgical camp we were hosting. After all her years of alienation, Mary had little confidence in getting her sight restored, but she agreed to a checkup in hopes that it would reduce the eye pain she was experiencing. The team diagnosed her with bilateral cataracts and recommended surgery, which she agreed to.

I went to check on her in hospital shortly after her bandages came off. I was initially disappointed because she kept saying, “No, I can’t see you. I can't see anything.” Worried something had gone wrong with the operation, I called her over to see the doctor, when she finally said, “Actually… I can see you, but I’ve been blind for so long, I thought I was imagining you! I’ve been able to see you the whole time.”

She erupted into laughter, then tears. Her niece joined in.

We escorted her home by public bus, and the whole time she was pointing and smiling at things she saw rushing by through the window. She said her greatest excitement was seeing the face of her daughter – now 12 years-old – as soon as she got home.

*name has been changed to protect the patient’s privacy

Plowing the fields, checking on his crops and just walking around the farm all became difficult – and even hazardous – for Harprasad when his eyesight started to fade. For the 69-year-old farmer in India, the idea of quitting work and sitting at home all day was unbearable. His pride was in maintaining the family’s land, alongside his wife, daughter and three sons.

Harprasad discussed his failing vision with his family, but they were unsure where to seek eye treatment.

Happily, the family’s village was included in one of our outreach projects. A community health worker showed up on their doorstep and examined Harprasad’s eyes, concluding that he had cataracts, a diagnosis that was confirmed after she sent him to the nearby Nehtaur Vision Centre.

Initially, Harprasad’s diagnosis caused him even more anxiety, as he worried about how he’d pay for the recommended cataract surgery. But the community health worker explained that he qualified for a free operation and that his transportation, meals and hospital stay would also be taken care of, thanks to the support of generous donors like you.

Harprasad underwent bilateral cataract surgery at our partner hospital, the C.L. Gupta Eye Institute in Moradabad. When the bandages came off, he was amazed by his clear vision. Now he’s confidently working on his farm once again.

Ten years ago, Esther – who lives in the village of Sitet, in Nandi County, Kenya – was chopping firewood when a log bounced and hit her left eye. The pain was sharp and immediate.

A week later, she went to the nearest hospital, where she received medication to manage the worsening pain and a referral to an eye hospital. But by then, her resources were spent. Out of money, she went home. The vision in her left eye never recovered.

She managed with her one good eye until three years ago, when she noticed the vision in her right eye was blurring. Soon, everyday tasks like picking coffee beans, cooking and walking to church became impossible.

“I felt like a burden to my daughter,” she says. “She had to leave her home to stay with me and help. At some point, I just wanted to die… I didn’t want to hold her back from her life.”

But one day, hope arrived in the form of a young man named Simon who knocked on Esther’s door. As a community health promoter we’d trained in primary eye care, Simon encouraged Esther to visit an upcoming eye screening camp we were organizing along with Meteitei Sub-County Hospital.

At the camp, doctors said that unfortunately her left eye was permanently damaged, but they could restore vision in her right eye. At 85 years old, Esther was scared of getting cataract surgery due to her age, but she was determined to reclaim her life. Thanks to our partner Johnson & Johnson, her operation was free.

The day after her surgery Esther experienced a moment she’ll never forget.

“They removed the bandage… and I could see!” she recalls. “I couldn’t believe it. I saw my daughter’s face again. I saw the sun. I saw my home.”

Now she’s back to her daily life – picking coffee, going to market and attending church. Her message is clear: “Please go. Don’t be afraid. The surgery is not painful. You will see again, just like me. I thank the doctors. I thank the donors and Operation Eyesight, and I thank God.”

Your support helps us provide more sight-restoring surgeries for people like Esther!

With files from: Lister Barasa Maskika, MIS/MEL Officer, Kenya

Four-year-old Priyansh’s story begins in March 2023 when his father, Raj, noticed a strange glow in his little boy’s eyes. It was an observation that would end up saving Priyansh’s life.

Raj and his wife, Ramya, acted quickly and took Priyansh to a local doctor who diagnosed him with a tumor. After more consultations, the family was advised to get treatment at the Operation Eyesight Universal Institute for Eye Cancer at the L V Prasad Eye Institute in Hyderabad, India.

The Operation Eyesight Universal Institute for Eye Cancer was made possible by the generous gift of an anonymous Canadian family, and through our longtime collaboration with the renowned eye hospital. Since 2015, the Institute has provided comprehensive treatment for the entire range of ophthalmic tumors in both adults and children. It is one of just a handful of centres in the world that specializes in this type of treatment.

Once he arrived at the Institute, Pryiansh was examined by an ophthalmologist who diagnosed him with fourth-grade retinoblastoma, a severe form of eye cancer that largely affects very young children.

With the level of danger the cancer presented, the doctor recommended that the affected eye be surgically removed. Although heartbroken by the diagnosis, the family knew surgery was their only hope to save their son. The operation was a success, and Priyansh’s outlook improved, but the journey was far from over. Following the surgery, Priyansh underwent grueling chemotherapy sessions to make sure there were no remaining cancer cells. The little boy was left weakened and frail, but kept his spirits up during treatment.

Due to the demands of Priyansh’s treatment, Raj, who works as a taxi driver, had to take time off work. In order to help free the family from the financial burden caused by Priyansh’s diagnosis, the L V Prasad Eye Institute was able to offer the treatment completely free of charge, allowing the family to focus on recovery.

Today, Priyansh is stable, and his parents are extremely grateful for the care he received.

To date, the Operation Eyesight Universal Institute for Eye Cancer has identified and treated 18,515 patients for eye cancer.

With special thanks to the L V Prasad Eye Institute, who originally reported this story.

Imagine failing the same grade twice. And the first grade, no less.

That’s an experience 11-year-old Hayat, in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia, has gone through. Today Hayat, held back by difficulties with her eyesight, is continuing to work on her first-grade accreditation, alongside seven- and eight-year-olds.

Born with a twin brother, Hayat had vision problems from the very start. Immediately after birth, she underwent eye surgery. The hospital scheduled her for a follow-up appointment, but due to financial constraints and lack of transportation, the family was unable to return for it.

Her father explained that, as Hayat grew older, she continued to have trouble seeing.

“We knew she had difficulty seeing distant objects, but we couldn’t take her to a health facility because we didn’t have the money for treatment,” her father shared. “It pained us deeply to see her struggle. We began to lose hope in her education because her performance was poor.”

But Hayat persisted with her schoolwork, and she was in class when Operation Eyesight, in collaboration with Partners in Education Ethiopia, started a screening program at her school.

Hayat was quickly identified as having vision problems. Along with other students, she received a referral to our partner institution, the Tibebe Ghion Hospital, for a full eye exam. An optometrist diagnosed her with refractive error.

Just two days after her hospital visit, the project team returned to Hayat’s school with a life-changing package in tow – the students’ eyeglasses.

Hayat went home sporting her new eyeglasses, beaming as she announced that she could finally see clearly. Her family was thrilled, knowing that she now had what she needed to thrive in school.

“Thank Allah!” her father announced, then followed up with instructions for Hayat. “Now you can study well and improve your grades.”

The little girl was more than happy to agree.

Find out how support from our donors is helping us bring eye health care to thousands of children like Hayat through our School Eye Health programs!

Story written with files from Marnat Adugna, Senior Project Officer, Operation Eyesight / Partners in Education Ethiopia

In November 2024, Kris Kelm joined us as our new Global Director of International Programs. Based in Ottawa, Kris brings with him years of experience and connections in the eye health and development sectors, which will serve him well as he leads our program teams, builds new partnerships, and oversees our government and stakeholder relations.

Like many in the development sector, Kris didn’t set out to work in philanthropy – he just sort of fell into it. He had been working at EssilorLuxottica, a producer of ophthalmic lenses and eyeglasses, when a chance meeting with the director of the company’s new philanthropic arm got him involved in charitable efforts. After a few years of running pilot projects, he found himself accepting a new position within the OneSight EssilorLuxottica Foundation Canada.

“It just resonated with me, to have that level of impact on improving somebody’s life by being able to provide better vision,” he says.

Now, he is working to prevent blindness and restore sight across the globe.

Since joining Operation Eyesight, he’s helped lead us through our involvement in the passage of Bill C-284 in Canada, a project he’d already been engaged with in his previous role. The Bill will enact the establishment of a national strategy for eye care.

Kris points out that given our 60-year history of bringing eye care to remote, rural and underserved communities, we can speak credibly on how we might approach things here at home.

On a recent trip to see some of our projects in Ghana and Zambia, Kris reflected on the insights that Canadian policymakers can take from some of our countries of work.

“Canada’s behind, in a sense, in our recognition of vision health as a priority,” he says., “I think we can learn as a country from the other nations that have come before us in prioritizing vision care nationally.”

Learn more about Bill C-284.

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.