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.
