Your donation can change lives.
Three years ago, Chini started having problems seeing. As she spun the prayer wheel in her hands, she said, "After having problems with my eyes, I can’t do anything by myself. Even cooking becomes hard." All three of Chini’s children are in their middle-age and have their own families, but they share the responsibility of looking after their mother. Even if she is walking, getting dressed, or eating at home, she must be taken care of by her children. "I worry about her falling and getting hurt," said her children. Blind people in Nepal do not use canes or guide dogs. They are shut away in a private world of darkness and depend completely on their family to survive. Although their children take care of them patiently, Chini wishes to have her life back. She said, "I hope to go out and take a walk in the Monkey Temple by myself like before." Her all-time buddies Tashi and Suna, too, hope that they can do their own housework, farm in the fields, and walk freely without worrying if they may fall or get lost. They wanted to regain their independence more than anything. Chini’s youngest son used to work in a temple and has volunteered at previous eye screening camps. One day he was fortunate to find out that the eye screening camp would be held again. He immediately arranged transport to take his mother, her two friends and other people in the village who have visual impairments to get their eyes checked, with hopes that the screening camp could give everyone hope.
Please send hope to more people who are in need. Your donation can help us reach remote areas and places like Nepal, so that we can provide appropriate and timely eye services to those in need. Your one decision can bring the following services to those in need:
Your support can provide sight saving surgery to someone like Chini every month. That’s 12 lives changed by you, every year if you donate monthly.
Your monthly donation can help fund a mobile eye camp in the most remote areas. These camps can provide hundreds of surgeries in a day to people who can’t normally access these services.
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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
Your monthly donation can train an eye surgeon – one eye surgeon can perform up to 1,000 surgeries a year.
When Chini, Tashi and Suna arrived at the eye screening camp, they prayed and talked together while undergoing different examinations. Even though the nurse reminded them to put down the prayer wheel many times, they continued to pray sincerely. The doctor found that Tashi and Suna each had cataracts in one eye, but Chini was diagnosed with bilateral cataract. Very calmly and confidently, Chini said: "Other people's surgery is good, I'm not scared at all." Despite this, Chini’s high blood pressure tells a different story. The medical staff acted quickly to lower her blood pressure to ensure she could have her sight restored while in the screening camp. After a long wait, the three entered the temporary operating room. Volunteer monks push open the operating room door every 10 minutes to guide patients to the operating table. In just three days, doctors performed cataract surgery on more than 240 people. Within half an hour, the surgeon successfully operated on Chini, Tashi and Suna and they were reunited again. The next morning, they were in the temple with other patients, waiting for the doctor to remove the eye patches. When Chini’s eye patches were removed, she immediately knew that the operation was successful. She reached out and touched her daughter's nose with a cheerful smile on her face. The three good friends smiled as they realised they could now admire the beautiful paintings that decorated the walls and ceilings of the monastery. Once again, the three of them could finally take a walk together and see the good things that life has given them.
And restore sight to up to 1,000 people every year