Shoua and Blong's Story

THERE ARE SOME GIFTS NO CHILD SHOULD HAVE TO WAIT FOR.

Imagine having to care for two small children who were both going blind. Imagine starting to lose your own sight while you cared for your children alone.

It might be hard to imagine how scary this would be. But this was the harsh reality facing Porlee – a single father and the sole carer to his children, Shoua and Blong.

Seven year-old Shoua and her four year-old brother, Blong, were both born with cataract.

There was hardly any joy in their young lives and their future didn’t look too bright – they weren’t going to school, they had no friends to play with and would spend all day at home, dependent on their father for everything.

As a farmer in a remote village in Laos, Porlee was worried about how he would care for his children. To make matters worse, he started losing his sight as well.

Porlee was lucky that he was able to take his children to a Fred Hollows Foundation sponsored mobile eye clinic that visited the remote areas of Laos.

Supporters like you stepped up and provided the helping hand that made it possible for Porlee, Shou and Blong to access this clinic and to ultimately get their sight restored. And watching their smiling faces light up the room as their patches were removed is better than anything you could ask for.
 

Will you help us reach more people like Shoua, Blong and Porlee with the extraordinary gift of sight today?

THANKS TO GENEROUS SUPPORTERS LIKE YOU, THIS FAMILY’S LIVES HAVE BEEN TRANSFORMED

A mobile eye clinic supported by The Fred Hollows Foundation allowed Porlee, Shoua and Blong to get proper diagnosis and referral needed for cataract surgery.

Thanks to people like you, this family now has hope for a better future. 

WE NEED YOUR HELP TO REACH MORE PEOPLE BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE

The leading cause of blindness in Laos is cataract and there are 35,000 people who are blind. The heartbreaking thing is that 9 out of 10 of them don’t have to be blind. But the lack of resources and skilled health workers means they can’t get help.

"I CANNOT PAUSE FOR LONG BECAUSE THERE ARE OTHERS WITH CATARACT WHOSE TIME IS RUNNING OUT"

When Dr Phetsamone was a boy, he looked after his grandmother who was blind for 40 years.

Seeing her struggle inspired him to become a doctor, and eventally an ophthalmologist. Dr Phetsamone is the first ophthalmologist trained by The Fred Hollows Foundation in Laos.

Dr Phetsamone said he is anxious every time he removes the eye patches from a patient, no matter how many surgeries he performs.

He said "it was a privilege to free this man from the fear that his children would face a lifetime of danger and disadvantage. It was a joy to watch Shoua and Blong so animated and happy."

"However I cannot pause for long because there are others with cataract whose time is running out. They need us now."

FRED DIDN’T STAND BY WHEN PEOPLE WERE AT RISK OF GOING BLIND. AND NEITHER SHOULD YOU.

“INDIVIDUALS CAN AND MUST HELP. LOOK AT THE PROBLEM AND DO SOMETHING, DON’T JUST SIT BACK.”

- FRED HOLLOWS

Founder of The Fred Hollows Foundation, Professor Fred Hollows was a straight talker and he was a doer, he rolled up his sleeves and got things done – always pushing for change, fighting for equity, and championing quality eye care for all.

He worked tirelessly to end avoidable blindness and has left a legacy that The Foundation now strives to honour, and we couldn’t do it without you. It’s people like you who have kept Fred’s vision alive, and allow us to carry on our sight-restoring work.

We’ve still got a long way to go and there’s a lot of work that needs to be done. But Fred had great faith in humanitarian nature of people and used to say that “caring about other people is what being a human is all about.”

Show you care and please donate today to help us give the gift of sight to people who are living with avoidable blindness. In doing so you are changing the lives of more people like Porlee, Shoua and Blong. There is no better gift you could give.