DON’T LET CHILDREN LIKE TIEK GO BLIND

Toddler Tiek is a bundle of joy. He is angelic, funny and cheeky. He has stolen his family’s hearts. But at the age of three months, Tiek’s loved ones saw the cloudiness in his eyes and started to worry about his eye health.
 
As Tiek grew, so did his family’s fear. Tiek couldn’t see clearly and needed to feel his way around their home. He was crawling backwards, not knowing directions.
 
In Lao PDR, blind children have a very hard life. They are less likely to go to school, more likely to be left out, and more likely to experience emotional and developmental instability.

Tiek’s parents, Kene and Inthong, were anxious, knowing that this would be their precious son’s difficult future.

The family doesn’t earn very much, and with no eye health services nearby, they felt helpless.

“I couldn’t focus on my work because I was extremely worried about him,” Kene says.

The cloudiness in Tiek’s eyes grew worse with each passing day, threatening to take over completely – until someone like you did something truly life-changing.
 

Your incredible generosity made it possible for a mobile eye camp to visit Tiek’s village.

BLINDNESS WAS HOLDING TIEK BACK

Every parent looks forward to celebrating their baby’s milestones, but with almost three quarters of a child’s early learning being through vision, Tiek’s mum and dad knew that their baby was already behind in his development.

Tiek’s whole family was hoping for a miracle – and then someone like you did just that by supporting Tiek’s surgery.