Sopilal is known for her warmth and kindness throughout Ormakau Village, Kajiado. Her cozy home, with its doors always open, is a sanctuary of joy and laughter for her children and grandchildren who have always admired her perseverance… 

You see, a childhood accident left Sopilal nearly blind in her left eye, so she relied entirely upon the right for most of her life. It was a struggle at times, but she managed, and she felt fortunate to see the bright smiles of her family and the tiny beads, needles and string she used to create beautiful artisan jewellery.

But at 78 years old, the one eye she relied upon was no longer clear. Sopilal’s vision faded, her already limited eyesight blurring more and more. No longer could she create her jewellery, nor make out the faces of her children and grandchildren that brought her so much happiness.

She was physically present with her family, but Sopilal felt all alone.

Until one day when a community health worker, trained by Operation Eyesight in primary eye care, made his way, through the rough terrain of nearly impassible roads, to the remote Ormakau village to screen residents for eye conditions. With an initial check, Sopilal was encouraged to seek help for her failing vision. There was likely a simple solution to her predicament.

Accompanied and guided by her daughter, Sopilal visited a nearby health centre where she received her diagnosis – it was indeed a cataract that had been fogging her vision. But there was good news – a simple surgery could restore her sight.

Although the procedure seemed simple and straightforward, Sopilal still found it daunting. What if it didn’t work? What if she could never see her loved ones’ faces clearly again? Sopilal hesitated at first, but her daughter’s gentle insistence convinced her to give it a try.

The day of the surgery arrived, and Sopilal was more nervous than she’d ever been. The procedure was quick, and soon she was resting in the recovery room with her right eye bandaged, still feeling unsure of the outcome.

But the following day her bandage was removed. Sopilal blinked a few times as her eyes adjusted to the light, and then she gasped. The world was no longer a blur of grey! She could see her daughter’s beautiful face! 

The next few weeks were filled with joyful reunions and rediscoveries. Sopilal could walk on her own and bead her jewellery once again, unhindered by blurred vision.  

Because of donors like you, Sopilal’s isolation ended. She no longer felt alone and was once again filled with the simple joy of living in the company of her children and grandchildren, catching unobstructed glimpses of their smiling faces. 

With files from Patrick Wainaina Muthii.

Fifteen-year-old Pushpita lives with her family just outside of Shivrampur, Namkhana in West Bengal, India. She has big dreams and knows that a good education will help make them come true, so she gives everything she’s got to succeed in her Grade 9 studies. 

But Pushpita’s ambitions are overshadowed with worry when she arrives at school. She’s been silently struggling as she notices more and more that her vision is not as clear as it once was. Reading the blackboard has become challenging, but she keeps her worries to herself, hoping her eyesight will miraculously improve on its own. 

Can you imagine being in class and the other kids raise their hands, eager to answer the teacher’s questions, excited to demonstrate what they’ve learned, while you can’t even make out what’s been written on the blackboard? Pushpita is isolated by her condition… 

Until one day she shows up to school to see an eye screening camp, organized by Sundarban Eye Hospital with support from Operation Eyesight. Though she hesitates at first, Pushpita participates once she sees her peers doing the same. It is nice to feel like part of the group again. 

And things get even better once her eyes are checked – Pushpita simply needs glasses! Thrilled that she’s found a solution to her problem, she hurries to the Namkhana Vision Centre to which she’s been referred. 

Pushpita’s eyes widen with astonishment and she brims with happiness as she dons her brand-new glasses – her world suddenly comes into focus.  

Thanks to the support of our donors and partners, Pushpita is now the first to proudly raise her hand in class. Not only has her vision improved, but she also feels confident and included again.  

But there are many more people like Pushpita waiting for their chance to see the world in all its beauty and experience its possibilities. 

Please donate today so we can continue to transform lives through the Gift of Sight. 

Anastasia, a 41-year-old mother of two teenage daughters, lives in Jei Krodua, in the Awutu Senya District of Ghana, where she earns a living brewing and selling asaana, a traditional local beverage. For nearly six years, she struggled with deteriorating vision, frequently endured pain and suffered from extreme sensitivity to light. These challenges made selling her drinks increasingly difficult and often, unable to see properly, accidentally gave customers too much change, realizing later that most did not return the extra money. “It wasn’t until I would go back home and calculate my sales that I would notice I had been cheated by some of my customers,” she recalled. One time, her impaired vision caused her to spill an entire batch of asaana while trying to place it on a table. 

When Anastasia first began experiencing vision problems, she went to a nearby hospital, where she was diagnosed with pterygium — a growth on the eye’s conjunctiva. But, the pterygium was still immature, and she was advised to wait. By the time it had matured enough to be removed, her husband had grown older, fallen ill and was no longer able to work, leaving them without the means to pay for the surgery. “As a sole breadwinner and a mother of two teenagers who is also taking care of my husband, my meagre income could hardly take care of our daily needs, so undergoing a surgery was an impossible dream,” Anastasia shared. 

Hope returned when Anastasia heard about an eye screening camp organized by Operation Eyesight. She attended, expecting little more than medication, but instead, she was diagnosed with a mature pterygium that could be removed through surgery at Operation Eyesight’s partner hospital Watborg Eye Services — free of charge, thanks to the generosity of donors. Anastasia underwent successful surgery, and she was also diagnosed with a refractive error and received prescription glasses at no cost. 

With her vision fully restored and her business back on track, Anastasia could finally see a brighter future for her family.  

“Though I feel that a mere thank you is not enough to express my appreciation, there is no other way to express to my joy except with a thank you. I am immensely grateful to Operation Eyesight for coming through for me.” – Anastasia  

Your support can help restore vision and hope for someone like Anastasia. By giving the Gift of Sight, you not only honour your loved ones, but also extend the spirit of compassion and generosity to someone across the world. 

Written with files from Dora Ewusi.

At Operation Eyesight, we work to prevent blindness and restore sight in 8 countries, including Ghana.

Here, we’ve helped more than 1.5 million people experiencing blindness or severe vision loss by partnering with government hospitals and other NGOs.

But help is only possible when families are aware of the services available to them…

Single mother Mary and her daughters Hannah, 10, and Lydia, 7, live together in Ghana in a modest plywood home. Due to the urgency of keeping her children safe from an abusive father, Mary didn’t recognize her daughters’ vision issues for quite some time.

Thankfully, her husband was eventually arrested and she and her daughters were finally safe, but Mary was left to care for the whole family with the sole financial support of her lime selling business.

No longer in danger, Mary noticed that Hannah and Lydia had a hard time seeing. They brought objects close to their faces to identify them, and teachers noticed their difficulty reading and the extra time it took each girl to complete simple tasks. Mary could not afford to take her daughters to see a doctor and sought help from several herbalists to no avail.

“Nothing was working, and I was worried that my children would live all their lives without having a proper view of the world,” Mary explains.

Mary had all but lost hope for her daughters when she noticed a sign for Watborg Eye Services, a secondary eye health facility we established. She took Hannah and Lydia there, and they were each diagnosed with bilateral cataracts and then promptly received surgery – at no cost to them, thanks to generous donors like you.

The two girls also needed prescription glasses, so they each picked out a pair and now wear them proudly at school, reading and writing with ease.

Mary is very grateful to Operation Eyesight and the staff at Watborg Eye Services. “I am now very confident that my children will have a better future,” says Mary. The two girls are also confident in their futures. “Since I can read well now, I know I will become the teacher I have always wished to be,” says Lydia. And for Hannah? “I will become a pilot,” she says.

Our unique approach empowers underserved communities in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa to address eye health care and, by consequence, whole person health care.

With your help, we can reach more families like Mary’s, in Ghana and in our other countries of work. We can ensure facilities are well known and easily accessible. With your support, we can transform lives and give children the opportunity to see a brighter future.

Khodeja lives in the small village of Godashimulia, in the Jamalpur district of Bangladesh. She lives with her husband and enjoys her role as a housewife, doing most of the household chores like sewing, cleaning, and taking care of the cows and chickens. But for the last five years, this has become difficult for Khodeja. 

Her vision first became blurry in her left eye, then shortly afterwards, her right. Her once vibrant life became a daily struggle. Simple household tasks now felt insurmountable, and venturing beyond her home to visit neighbours or buy groceries was impossible. Khodeja found herself dependent on her family, unable to even visit her own daughters. The loss of independence weighed heavily on her. She did not seek treatment due to financial constraints, and her concerns mounted.  

"I am just worried of losing my sight and being unable to see my grandchildren again," said Khodeja. "It would be a devastating state for me if I lose my sight. I don't want to be a burden to my family." 

One day, a knock on her door informed Khodeja of a free eye screening camp to be conducted at the Madarganj Vision Centre, established in partnership with Operation Eyesight. Khodeja became hopeful and decided to take a chance. 

At the screening camp, Khodeja was diagnosed with mature cataracts and referred for surgery. Initially, she feared the operation would be painful and worried about its success. She also worried about the cost. Her family had almost given up hope, resigned to the idea that Khodeja would spend the rest of her life in darkness. 

But the compassionate staff at the Madarganj Vision Centre dispelled her fears, and soon Khodeja was travelling approximately 100 km to the BNSB Eye Hospital in Mymensingh. There, Khodeja received the cataract surgery she needed, free of charge. It was a second chance at sight, a second chance at life. 

Today, Khodeja's eyes sparkle with joy. With one eye completely healed and the other now strengthened with prescription eyeglasses, her clear vision has been restored.  She has regained her independence and once again feels capable of contributing to her family's well-being by resuming her household tasks. 

"I thank my community, because during my difficult time, they supported me in many ways, " Khodeja says. 

Together, we can help more people like Khodeja through the Gift of Sight. 

Please donate today.  

Esther has been living in the small village of Momoniat, nestled in the heart of Megun Location, Kapseret Sub-County, Uasin Gishu County, for more than 45 years. Her home, a modest abode with mud walls and a corrugated rooftop, has been a sanctuary for her family. 

She is a wife and a mother of four and her family, like so many others in her village, has faced hardships that seem insurmountable. Her children, eager to learn and grow, were forced to drop out of school due to financial constraints. Instead, they worked as casual labourers, their young dreams cast aside to fend for the family. 

After decades helping farm her small piece of land, Esther began struggling with vision impairment. For three long years, she battled bilateral cataracts, losing not only her vision but also her independence. The simplest tasks became challenging, and she could no longer contribute to her family's welfare. 

"I felt like dying," Esther confessed, "I had become a stranger to myself. I was in darkness and always afraid. I thought I was under a spell." Her fears extended beyond the confines of her home. She dreaded the rains, imagining herself caught outside, vulnerable to the elements. 

Esther's neighbour Caroline was aware of her struggles and referred her to Huruma Sub-County Referral Hospital for assessment. "As soon as Caroline mentioned that she had found a way for me to have surgery on my eyes, I became even more worried. I had fears that I wouldn't make it out alive with my age. I had no clue that it was a simple surgery. Again, I had no financial capabilities to pay for the surgery,” she explained. 

The road to recovery stretched 47 km, but Esther's determination carried her to the Huruma Sub-County Referral Hospital Eye Unit in Uasin Gishu County, where she received surgery on her right eye. Caroline paid a small fee of 2,500 Kenyan Shillings (22.89 CAD,) and the rest was made possible thanks to the generosity of our donors. 

Esther's transformation was life changing. Her restored sight opened a world of possibilities. "I am so happy to have regained my sight back,” she said. “I even hugged one of the surgeons and thanked them for the good job. They were heaven-sent." 

Once she receives the second surgery in her left eye, Esther plans to return to home, where she will farm and help provide for her family once more.  

When you give the Gift of Sight this holiday season, you can give someone like Esther the chance to feel alive again. You can give a parent or grandparent the ability to provide for their family and regain their independence. 

With your support, we can bring light and hope to many more people like Esther. 

Please give the Gift of Sight today – For All The World to See! 

It’s the time of year when many of us reflect on the last year and look ahead as we enter the season of hope and aspirations. 

Yet for some people in our communities of work, it’s difficult to be optimistic about what’s to come. Samad is a 10-year-old boy who lives in a small village in Northern India. He has had vision loss in his right eye his entire life. Unfortunately, Samad’s parents both have physical disabilities, cannot work and can barely scrounge enough to feed their family, let alone find the funds to correct Samad’s partial vision loss. 

Seeing through one eye only was all Samad had ever known, and it seemed this would be his future as well. He struggled to see the world clearly and wondered if an education and the ability to provide for himself and a family of his own one day would ever be attainable. 

But thanks to our global community of donors, Samad can now imagine a promising future.  

A community health worker trained by Operation Eyesight was conducting door-to-door screenings in the area and discovered that Samad had a cataract in his right eye. She urged his parents to take him to a nearby vision centre, but they weren’t convinced anything could ever change. This was the only reality they had ever known for their son, and they couldn’t afford treatment nor the expenses associated with getting him to the vision centre. So they didn’t go.  

The tenacious community health worker followed up, informing his parents that a simple checkup could determine the prognosis of Samad’s condition and that our sustainable and inclusive model empowers those who can afford to pay for their treatments to do so, allowing us to subsidize the cost for those who cannot.  

Finally convinced, Samad’s parents took him to visit the Nehtaur Vision Centre at the C.L. Gupta Eye Institute, where he learned that he had a mature cataract in his right eye and required surgery as soon as possible to restore his vision. That November, Samad received his surgery and was finally able to see with both eyes for the first time in his life.  

Thanks to generous donors like you, Samad has received a transformational gift. He can now see the world through two eyes – just like other children – and picture a bright future ahead.  

Right now, there are many children like Samad who are still waiting to receive the Gift of Sight.  

Together, we can make a profound difference in the lives of many. 

Please give the Gift of Sight this holiday season – For All The World To See!