Overcoming Cataract and Seeing the World Again

Do you remember what your world looked like when you were seven? Was it filled with brightness, curiosity, running freely, and laughter?

For seven‑year‑old Lumnguen from Laos, it used to be the same — until an accident slowly took away his ability to see clearly. Sunlight became painful, the road to school became dangerous, and even the faces of his friends began to blur.

A Brave Promise - A Light of Hope from Laos

In a small village in Laos, seven-year-old Lumnguen made a promise with Dr Visay — if he grows up to become a doctor one day, they will work together to help others.

But that dream became uncertain after an accident two years ago. While playing, a small forest fruit fired from a slingshot struck Lumnguen’s left eye. He didn’t cry, so his parents didn’t realise how serious the injury was. Over time, his vision slowly faded. The path to school became dangerous, and the joy of playing with friends gradually disappeared.

Everything changed during the eye screening at school, where he met Dr Visay for the first time. After examination, the doctor diagnosed him with a cataract caused by the injury and explained to his parents that timely treatment was needed to prevent further loss of sight.

Lumnguen’s family lived in a remote part of Laos and could not afford the medical costs. With support from The Fred Hollows Foundation, Dr Visay visited their home personally to explain the surgery and reassure the parents, giving the family a renewed sense of hope.

The surgery was successful, and when his mother heard the news, she cried tears of joy.

The next day, Dr Visay brought four chicks as a surprise gift — and Lumnguen smiled brightly for the first time in a long while.

When asked what he looked forward to after his sight improved, he said he wanted to ride his bicycle to school again.

Why Your Support Matters

In many rural communities, children with vision loss may wait years before receiving help. Some regions have no full‑time eye doctor, and families cannot afford to travel long distances for treatment.

And without timely care, the consequences can be devastating:

Their sight may never return, even though their condition is treatable.
Their safety is at risk every day, as they struggle to judge distance or avoid hazards.
Their futures narrow, as they fall behind in school, lose confidence, and their families sink deeper into a cycle of poverty.

This is the reality for children like Lumnguen – and it is preventable.

By training more eye‑care professionals, The Foundation can ensure early diagnosis and timely treatment for children living in remote areas. This specialised training is the strongest and most effective way to reach children who would otherwise go unseen.

Your gift today will help train more eye‑care workers who can detect cataract in children early

Your gift today can help children like Lumnguen

Stories like these remind us why training local eye‑care professionals is so critical.

In 2026, The Foundation aims to train 607 doctors and nurses in remote regions, so children like Lumnguen can be diagnosed and treated in time — before their sight is lost forever.

Your donation today can help train these frontline eye‑care workers.

Donate now to give the gift of sight

Fred's Vision for Southeast Asia

Fred Hollows dedicated his life to ensuring no one should go blind unnecessarily. In countries like Laos, where access to healthcare is limited, Fred’s vision is more critical than ever. Thanks to your compassion, we can continue Fred’s legacy of restoring sight and transforming lives.

Fred had a deep connection to Southeast Asia. He spent time training surgeons in Vietnam and always hoped to expand his work to countries like Laos, where he could restore sight to children like Lumnguen.

"Good honest work. I mean...how many people have the opportunity to be part of that? To watch that sort of good surgery being done on cataract-blind people warms your soul," said Fred.

Fred may be gone, but his work lives on.

Fred and Ruit walking with a patient in Vietnam Fred Hollows and Dr. Sanduk Ruit standing side by side with a cataract patient in Hanoi, where his work in Southeast Asia started. Fred visited Vietnam six months before his death to train Vietnamese eye surgeons in intra-ocular lens implant surgery.

Your support will help us achieve these goals in Laos this year:

Screen more than 24,000 people
Equip 12 eye care facilities
Perform over 3,000 cataract surgeries
Train 1,300 community eye health workers

WHAT IMPACT CAN YOUR DONATION BRING?

Blindness and vision impairment is a health issue, and related to a person's well-being, quality of life and development opportunities. The Fred Hollows Foundation believes that a fly-in-fly-out model is not the best way to develop a place’s eye health care. Our vision is to build sustainable, good quality and affordable eye care in remote areas of the world.

Your donation will be used to:

Train surgeons or eye health workers
Provide medical equipment
Organise eye screening camps in remote areas
Raise awareness of eye health to the public
Invest in innovation and research

Our new Five-Year Strategy

Sight Simulator