Gender inequalities in vision loss

On International Women’s Day, we’re taking a closer look at the connections between gender inequalities and avoidable vision loss. The oldest of five children, Thandiwe in Zambia has always looked after her younger siblings. When the village borehole broke down, she had to fetch water from the river, and her family couldn’t wash as often.… Continue reading Gender inequalities in vision loss

Water sources increase education opportunities for girls

Blessings is a twelve-year-old girl from Zambia. She attends Mweela School in the Sinazongwe district. This school is currently considered one of the best in the area, but that hasn’t always been the case. Eleven years ago, this same school had an enrollment of 112 boys and only 86 girls. Over the last decade, the… Continue reading Water sources increase education opportunities for girls

Empowering women in unexpected ways

Blindness is a gender issue. Blindness discriminates. Fifty-five per cent of the world’s blind are women and girls. More than 20 million women and girls are blind, and 120 million are visually impaired. Four out of five people who are blind don’t need to be. And this injustice is magnified in developing countries. Women face… Continue reading Empowering women in unexpected ways

Health worker brings light to her community

The last of the sun’s rays cast over a small village near the India-Bangladesh border. Nurbhanu is finishing up her final house call of the day. As a community health worker with Operation Eyesight’s Community-Based Eye Health Project in West Bengal, India, she is used to working late into the evening. Tomorrow, a team from… Continue reading Health worker brings light to her community