Standsingh is an 82-year-old man who lives in the state of Meghalaya in India. It’s a hilly region, surrounded by mountains and rocky cliffs. He was born and raised in a small village, where he lives with his children and grandchildren in a sturdy little house made of timber and brick.
Sadly, Standsingh’s wife passed away eight years ago, so he works as a farmer on his own to help support his family.
Despite the hard work, he loved farming and herding his cattle. Unfortunately, as time passed, his eyesight progressively deteriorated, and he found it hard to identify and recognize his own cattle from afar.
Not only did his vision affect his work, it also made it difficult for him to do simple daily tasks at home.
Eventually Standsingh was forced to stop working, and he could no longer support his family members. He despaired as he felt that he was becoming more of a burden to his family with every passing day.
“I had so much difficulty herding my cattle in the field. I could hardly recognize my own cows from the others belonging to nearby shepherds. Back home, I often felt that I was an inconvenience to my family members since I was unable to do simple tasks without help.”
Just when Standsingh felt like all hope was lost, field workers from our partner hospital, the Bansara Eye Care Centre, came knocking at his door. They screened his eyes and when they discovered the cause of his visual impairment, they immediately referred him for sight-restoring cataract surgery.
Standsingh worried that he couldn’t afford the cost of treatment, but the field workers assured him that it would all be free of charge to him and his family, thanks to the support of Operation Eyesight’s generous donors!
Soon after, Standsingh received sight-restoring surgery in his left eye, restoring part of his vision. And he’s due to go back for surgery in his right eye soon! Meanwhile, he has started working again, and he has no trouble knowing which cattle to herd and feed.
He has also regained his independence at home! Now he can easily perform his daily tasks without a family member’s help. Not only that, he’s so excited to have his vision restored that he often goes out to visit his relatives and friends who live in other nearby villages.
“I received such professional and quality care, despite not coming from a well-to-do family. I represent a family which lives below the poverty line and to have this kind of service made available to people like us fills me with great joy. If it wasn’t for this, I wouldn’t have found any other way to regain my sight.”
He adds, “I am so thankful to all the staff of Bansara Eye Care Centre and the generous donors who helped me to restore my sight.”
Stories like Standsingh’s are what inspire and drive us in our mission to eliminate avoidable blindness in the countries we work in. Thanks to the incredible generosity of people like you, Standsingh’s sight and his quality of life have been restored. And there are more people like him who need your help! Make a donation to our cataract surgery program today to provide other men like Standsingh with the quality eye care they need!
