Please give today to reach people like David before it is too late.
When David’s parents noticed his sight was failing, they feared for his future. “Because of our situation, I want David to get a good job so he can leave the situation and put him to another level. That’s a wish for every parent,” his father says. If a child does not have surgery to remove their cataract early enough, their brain does not learn to read signals from the eye – and they can be blind for life. David’s family live in extreme poverty, and surgery was out of reach. Thanks to people like you, David now has hope for a better future.
Four out of five people in Kenya who are blind don’t need to be. Difficulty accessing health services and low numbers of health workers means they can’t get help. With your support, we can address these significant barriers in the way of quality eye health care for all.
If a child’s cataract is not treated in time, their brain can’t learn to recognise signals from the eye, and they can stay blind for life. You can help us get to people sooner with and restore their hope for a better future.
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Clementine was just one of those people facing this scenario: she was desperate to help her son, but the village where they live is hours from the nearest hospital. Travelling is really not an option for people in her situation.
Without outreach programs like the ones run by The Fred Hollows Foundation, finding help would have been very difficult. But a community health worker visited the area where Eric lives, and contacted Dr Ciku Mathenge, a leading eye surgeon who has restored sight to thousands of people
Blindness limits a child’s access to education and ability to learn. Up to 75% of children’s learning and development is acquired through vision. Childhood blindness can affect social and emotional development and is associated with delays in crawling and walking. Your kindness can help us restore a future for these children.
Of the ophthalmologists working across Kenya, half are based in the capital Nairobi, which means that 92% of people, about 40 million people, are cared for by fewer than 50 eye doctors. But you can help us reach them.
After David’s surgery, as the patches were removed, and the doctor shone a torch in his eyes, David smiled and reached out to the light. His father, Samuel, was overjoyed to see his child’s sight restored thanks to supporters like you. The surgery opened a new world of possibilities to David, and he was enrolled in school. David has become an unstoppable force, is attentive in class and a rising star in the field. The eye surgery has brought out his gift as an agile footballer. “You remember his younger brother Bramwell used to hold David’s hands to guide him; he no longer does that,” Samuel told us. Bramwell is still by his brother’s side, but he is no longer tasked with caring for him. He can now go to school and experience life like any other child. Before the surgery, it seemed as if the two brothers were heading for a lifetime of hardship. Now they have hope of a future filled with more opportunities.
Fred Hollows worked tirelessly to end avoidable blindness and has left a legacy that The Foundation now strives to honour. He once said, "caring about other people is what being a human is all about." It’s caring people like you who have kept Fred’s vision alive and allow us to carry on our sight-restoring work. But there is much more work to be done. Every year about 14,500 new cases of cataract are discovered in Kenya. With your support today, we can improve the lives of thousands of people, securing their future and giving them something wonderful to look forward to - the gift of sight. In Kenya we are working to:
There are 328,000 people waiting for cataract surgery in Kenya. And just like Fred, we won't stop until we reach them. Thank you for believing that everyone has access to quality eye care, no matter where they live.
Please donate today to restore sight...