Cataract surgery can change a life

A young child shyly turns away when greeted
Written by Elizabeth Roden, Director, Marketing and Communications, published on April 30, 2019 Give the Gift of Sight

Meet Musokwe. She’s 72 and lives in a small village outside of Lusaka, Zambia.

Operation Eyesight's Presidnet with a woman who received sight-restoring eye surgery thanks to our donors
Aly Bandali, our President & CEO, met Musokwe while he was in Zambia last week, and he’s excited to share her story with you.

Aly Bandali, our President & CEO, met her at one of our boreholes, where she was fetching water for her family, carrying her grandchild on her back in a large scarf.

A young child shyly turns away when greeted
Musokwe was happy to meet Aly, but her grandchild… not so much.

She told Aly her story. She had lost her sight in both eyes due to cataract. When we came to her village to drill a borehole and create access to eye care, a community health worker met her and referred her to the hospital for sight-restoring surgery. But Musokwe was too afraid to go through with it.

Of course, the community health worker didn’t give up. She counselled Musokwe day after day, encouraging her to go for surgery and explaining to her how the process would work. At last, Musokwe agreed to the treatment.

And thanks to the support of incredible people like YOU, she has her sight back!

When Aly asked her if she was happy to be able to see her grandchild’s face, she was moved to tears of joy. She nodded, barely able to reply through her tears. She’s so grateful to be able to watch her beautiful grandchild grow up!

This heartwarming moment was captured on video. You can watch it on Aly’s Instagram account.

We’re so grateful to people like you for helping people like Musokwe and her community every day!

Thanks to your generous gifts, there are now boreholes serving communities in Zambia with safe and clean water, which helps prevent the spread of trachoma, a blinding eye disease.

Even more – because of you, people living in villages like Musokwe’s have access to eye care treatment like cataract surgeries. Thank you!

There are still so many people like Musokwe who need your help. Please give the gift of sight today – For All The World To See!