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Success stories

Thanks to the support of our donors the Eye Care Foundation is able to help a great many people.

Help remains desperately needed, such as for the 3-year-old boy Big C from Laos

Finally the moment has arrived. The bandage comes off…. His mother watches expectantly. Her son Big C from Laos has had cataract surgery and now the big moment has arrived. Will the dark spot have disappeared? Ophthalmologist Johnny does his work professionally and carefully. Then there is joy and...

Stories of Hope: Sushma from Nepal

Imagine hiking for two to three days through the difficult terrain of the Himalayan mountain range simply for an eye exam. For years, this has been the reality for the resilient villagers of Humla, Karnali district in Nepal. In this isolated part of the world, where road connectivity is still an...

Stories of Hope: Kimtol from Cambodia

Sorn Kimtol is 43 years of age and lives in Anlong Cheng Village in Oddar Meanchey Province in the remote northwest of Cambodia. He is a father to three young children. He is a moto-taxi driver earning an income to support his family. When Kimtol was only 14 years old, he was attacked by a bull...

Stories of Hope: Erick from Tanzania

At the early age of 12, a young boy named Erick Malekela started on a journey that would ultimately change the course of his life in the heart of Mlimba district council. Erick, who is currently in standard five, has been dealing with a serious and ongoing difficulty for the past three years: his...

Stories of Hope: Nguyen Van Tam from Vietnam

Living in a small, dark, hot room without ventilation, Mr. Nguyen Van Tam (born in 1957) collects iron scraps from construction sites around his place to earn a living. The room is large enough for just three people to step in. “At least I have a place to hide from the sun and the rain”, he said. Years...

Stories of Hope: Ka Ying from Laos

Ka Ying is 7 years old and lives with his parents in Yord Yeung Village, Xamtay District, Huaphan Province. Picture 1: Xamtay district. About 5 months ago Ka Ying suffered an injury to his left eye when it was hit by a stone fired from a slingshot. His parents did not take him to the hospital immediately...

A JOURNEY OF RESTORED SIGHT AND RENEWED HOPE

Khamvern, at the age of 69, resides in the picturesque Piavath village within the Khoun district of Xiengkhuang province. A retired military officer, she dedicated her life to national defense, proud of her service. However, in 2020, Khamvern's world began to blur as her eyesight slowly faded. Initially...

“I’ll be blind forever, I thought” – Muth Thun

May I take you to Trapaing Tav Chas in this story? A remote village in Cambodia. This is where Muth Thun (66 years old) lives with her two sons and their families. In recent years, her eyesight has been getting worse. Her world is small, her life dark. Almost everything has become unrecognizable. Muth...

“Sorry, your daughter is going blind and there’s nothing we can do for her…”

Powerless How powerless do you feel as parents when your three-year-old child turns blind and you are being told: "We can't do anything for your daughter...we don't have the equipment or the skills." These words were said to Mina's parents, who live in a remote area in Laos. Their little girl is only...

“Sorry, your daughter is going blind and there’s nothing we can do for her…”

How powerless are you as parents when your three-year-old child goes blind and you are being told: "We can't do anything for your daughter...we don't have the equipment or the skills." These words were said to Mina's parents, who live in a remote area in Laos. Their little girl is only a one and a...

Give an eye doctor like Dr. Hong a contribution to his education

Due to the lack of ophthalmologists in low-income countries, patients often have to wait a long time for surgery that can change their lives. Those who need specialist eye care cannot always access a place where they can receive a proper treatment. This way people become blind – a condition that can...

Give a patient like Pham a cataract surgery

Pham has a cataract which causes constant accidents during cooking or walking. As a result of the cataract, Pham once fell from a narrow path into the rice field. He damaged his spleen and needed surgery. Because his wife has passed away, he has to stay with his children. But that can be a burden for...

Give a schoolchild like Hahn an eye test and a pair of glasses

Hahn is one of the smartest kids in her class. Yet she has been getting low grades lately because of her bad eyesight. She cannot see what her teacher writes on the board, studying takes a lot of time and effort. Because she is lagging behind, her parents are thinking about getting her out of school....

Bhama Kala’s wish came true after all!

Bhama Kala (67) was still healthy and fit, but despite this she was unable to take care of herself. Due to cataracts, her grandchildren had to take care of her instead of the other way around. Was it day or night? It no longer meant anything to her. She would give anything to be able to see and help...

Give Chey back what he had lost

In a small village in the Cambodian hinterlands lives Chey (68). He and his wife have eight children and many grandchildren of whom they are extremely proud, as grandparents always are. He has a large, loving family and yet Chey felt depressed and lonely. As result of losing his sight to cataracts, ...

Dezila dares to dream again!

In the waiting room of the hospital here in Zambia, a young woman sat with her head hanging down and her hands folded in her lap. Dezila (34) had cataracts in both eyes and was almost completely blind. The hospital in Macha, a village in Southern Province in Zambia, has a small eye department. The...

Bhakta was perfectly healthy, but he was blind

If you could only have seen Bhakta (55) when he had to walk somewhere. Inching along, step by careful step while hanging on to his wife`s arm; unsure, dependent and isolated. Bhakta was perfectly healthy, but he was blind. And that made life for him and his family in the mountains of Gorkha (Nepal) ...

Your support gives these people and their families a new start in life

I would like to share a story with you about an exceptional encounter I had with a cataract patient in Laos. A few months ago I was in Laos for Eye Care Foundation to counsel Dr.Oui, the director of a hospital in the province of Houaphan, and his team. Dr. Oui has asked me to let you know how grateful...

What gift could be greater than saving a family from a life of extreme poverty?

I am writing this today to tell you about families who were already poor to begin with, but who sank even deeper into poverty due to unnecessary blindness or impaired vision. This story takes place in the province of Ratanakiri in north-eastern Cambodia. Grandparents here often live with their children`s...

Will you help a child find happiness again?

For a child such as Deepa (7) you represent a miracle. She lives in the village of Tarkuhat in the Lamjung district in Nepal. Deepa`s family is poor. In fact, they are amongst the very poorest in this remote region. Her father Bikram sings and plays music on the local bus in Kathmandu. His livelihood...

‘Fortunately I was able to go to the Mechi Eye Hospital’

Roshni Khadka is 17 years old and lives in Surunga, Nepal. Her father works abroad and her mother runs a small hotel. She has a younger brother and a sister. Roshni was feeding her younger brother when suddenly a hook dropped from the ceiling. The hook made a large wound, just above her left eye....

“I am so glad that I can take care of my grandchildren again”

Mrs. Den is 62 years old and lives in the Soc Trang province in Vietnam. She lives with her daughter and two grandchildren in a small house in a remote village. To get to her house you have to cross a narrow improvised bridge. Mrs. Den has not been able to see well for several years. In the village ...

Many children in the poor provinces of Vietnam have needlessly bad eyesight

In southern Vietnam a strikingly large group of schoolchildren is visually impaired or blind. Because there is no basic eye care available locally, they have nowhere to turn. For the poor, this means that they remain trapped in a cycle of poverty, because visually impaired children stay behind in...

Cataract made Paiha’s life even more difficult

Paiha lives in Xieng Khouang, Laos. She does not know her exact age, but she thinks she's 68 years old. Paiha is poor and does not have a house to live in. She has built a small shelter from materials she found. Paiha has a hard life, but she gets by. However, when she began to lose her sight, everything...

“Going blind made my mother feel sad and isolated”

Mrs. Mane is 78 years old and lives in Houaphan, Laos. She lives in a small village with her daughter. Her daughter makes some money by selling products at the local market. However, they struggle to get by. A few years ago, Mrs. Mane noticed that her sight was deteriorating. At first she didn’t tell...

Update: Chey Nein is doing well after cataract surgery in 2016

Chey Nein is a 68-year-old man from Mondulkiri, Cambodia. He has eight children, who are all married. He lives with his wife and his 96-year-old mother. Chey has been a farmer all his life. However, over the past three years he noticed that his vision was deteriorating. Working and even getting around...

“I really wanted to work to provide for my family. But I needed help with everything.”

Pin Phat (75) had always worked hard and provided for his family, but he had become dependent and lonely. Cataracts in both eyes had severely limited his world. He could not even see his own outstretched hands. "When I examined Phat`s eyes, he told me he was completely dependent on his wife for...

“I’ve got my life back”

El Vanson is a 64-year-old man from Mondulkiri, Cambodia. In late November, he came to the health centre in his district to have his eyes examined. Vanson says that he bumped into a tree 17 years ago which caused a large swelling around his right eye. He has been blind in that eye since then and, at...

Thank you for my glasses!

Thirteen-year-old Thinh lives with his parents in Binh Duong, Vietnam. For a number of years he had trouble seeing in the distance and at school he could not see what the teacher had written on the blackboard. "Often I could not read the question and therefore could not participate in the lesson" said...

Twelve-year-old Son’s vision was deteriorating

Son Thi Xa Me (12) is a cheerful and intelligent girl. She works hard in school and is a quick learner. She would love to become a teacher one day so that she can build a better life for herself. Son’s future looked bright until her vision started to get progressively worse. She would get headaches ...

I lost not only my vision but my pride as well

The life of Mr Meng from Laos came to a halt when cataracts threatened to turn him completely blind. He received cataract surgery which made such an impression on him that he had to tell his story. I am only 55. Ever since I was a little boy, I worked on the land. My whole family helps to cultivate ...

My vision is better than ever!

"My vision is better than ever! I can take care of my family again" For Ash, the first eye camp after the earthquake came just in time. Since her cataract surgery she can see again. After last year’s earthquake in Nepal many people were left with eye injuries due to flying debris. Ash Gurung (40) was...

Susannah Tadei from Tanzania

Susannah Tadei is 36 years old and lives in Moshi, Tanzania. She walked into the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre holding onto her 10-year-old daughter`s arm. Susannah was almost blind and spent most days in her home because she was afraid to go out. She needed round-the-clock assistance from her...

Pheak Kim Sreang from Cambodia

Pheak Kim Sreang is a young girl who has cataracts in both eyes. She lives with her parents in the province of Svay Rieng in Cambodia. When the girl was six months old, her parents noticed that something was wrong. When crawling, she would constantly bump up against the furniture. Her parents did not...

Srey Samorn from Cambodia

Srey Samorn is 60 years old and works on the land in a small village in Cambodia. She shares a small house with her family. Everyone helps farm the land and her daughter sells nuts in a stall by the main road. About five years ago Srey woke up and her right eye was painful. When she looked in the...

Mr. Santa from Nepal

Santa lives in Simjung, a small, remote village in the Gorkha district, one of the areas most affected by the earthquakes. When the quake hit, Santa tried to get a plough from his home, but his house collapsed. He was buried under the rubble and was unconscious. The Nepalese army managed to get Santa...

Mr. Pei Song

Mr. Pei Song is 68 years old and had cataracts in both eyes. A year ago he had a cataract operation on his left eye. Yesterday he had surgery on his right eye. "I am extremely happy that I am receiving good eye care here in the new clinic. My eyes are very important to me. I have long been a chairman...

Ms. No Tei from Cambodia

Ms. No Tei lives in a village in the province of Mondulkiri, Cambodia. She has eight children. Together with her family she has 2 hectares of land where they grow beans. Three years ago her vision started to deteriorate and she could no longer work in the fields. Her tasks at home also became increasingly...

Say Cheat did not want cataract surgery

Say Cheat (52) lived in the remote area of Koh Nhaek in Mondulkiri province. By chance she learned that she could have surgery for her cataracts. Before that she didn`t know her eye problem could be treated. After much hesitation she finally went to an eye clinic for cataract surgery. She was already...

He is lucky

His name is Seng Seila and he is only ten years old. He lives in the village of Rolous, a hamlet in the jungle, in the province of Kratie. One of his eyes developed a white pupil. Gradually he lost his sight in that eye and felt increasingly more pain. The eye grew larger by the day and bulged further...

Ms. Noun from Cambodia

Ms. Noun lives in a remote area in the province of Mondulkiri in Cambodia. Since her cataract surgery she can look after her grandchildren again and walk around on her own. "I also started my own shop. I sell bananas," she says laughing....

Ms Pech from Cambodia

"I'm so happy," says Ms. Klup Pech after her cataract surgery. She lives in the small village of Bousra, in Mondulkiri province. "Now I can earn money again by selling ice cream at our house while my husband works in the fields."...

Blinded by onions

Cleaning onions is mainly done by women. The women wear no masks or glasses because they say they can work faster without and earn more. This is important because they are paid per kilo of cleaned onions. To prevent unnecessary blindness and eye problems here in the workplace the workers need to be ...

Better off with glasses

Nga's parents thought her eyesight would be even worse with glasses. The twelve-year-old girl`s eyes were tested during a school eye exam in Binh Phuoc province. Her vision was so bad that she could not count fingers from a distance of five meters. Fortunately, thanks to her prescription glasses,...

“This eye? The Americans operated on it for me. “

Mr Ram (74) is a war veteran. He lost his right eye as well as two fingers fighting the Americans. His left eye developed a cataract and was operated on at a free eye camp. He rode his bike all the way to the eye camp in Hoa Lai village in the Mekong Delta. " I did not want to burden my children with...

Back to work

Mr. Nong Van Nguyen is a civil servant. When he fell ill and developed cataracts on top of that, he went blind and was unable to perform his duties as a civil servant. He did not know that his condition could be treated. He lived in darkness for four years and hardly left the house until he was visited...

Still happy

Mr. and Mrs. Tran (82 and 85 years old respectively) both underwent cataract surgery eleven years ago. The operations were performed by our former medical adviser Houdijn Brook House. This year the couple were visited at home by an ophthalmologist trained by the Eye Care Foundation. It was good to see...

Working with a study aid

Bui Thu Hien, a student in Hai Duong Province, South Vietnam, has severe amblyopia (a lazy eye). Luckily she received a study aid from the Eye Care Foundation to help with reading. This made it possible for Hien to continue with her studies....

Blind for five years and now able to see again.

Kim Thi Quone is a 68-year-old woman. She was blind in both eyes for five years until she underwent cataract surgery on her right eye a few years ago. Ype Henry, the ophthalmologist at the VU University Medical Centre and a medical volunteer for the Eye Care Foundation, was in Tra Vinh Province (Vietnam)...

Now they are able to read what they are selling

Mr. and Mrs. Hung sell lottery tickets to passersby in the streets. They came for an eye exam because their vision was getting progressively worse. "I could barely read the numbers on the lottery tickets. I often gave incorrect information to buyers and then got an angry reaction,"says Mrs. Hung. "With...

A ceremony where glasses are given to underprivileged children in Thoi Binh

Twelve-year-old Anh Tai (third from the right in the photograph) has not been to school for the last three years. He could see next to nothing, let alone read. Even his mother thought he was blind. Fortunately, it is now possible to organize eye exams for children even in a province as remote as Thoi...