Preventing eye disease through community outreach

A community health worker in Assam, India discusses eye health with a man outside of his home during a door-to-door survey.

For most of her life, Napolo from Narok County, Kenya suffered from eye pain. The 78-year-old first noticed the discomfort when she was in her thirties. She said it felt like there was always sand in her eyes. Then her eyelids started turning inwards, causing more pain and irritation. She tried traditional remedies like plucking… Continue reading Preventing eye disease through community outreach

Putting community at the heart of our work

Premi reads a school book in front of her home in Udaipur, India. Photo: Aditya Sharma, Program Manager

Twelve-year-old Premi, in Rajasthan, India, loves reading and going to school, but in recent years, her enthusiasm for learning came under threat when her eyesight started to fade, making it difficult for her to read the blackboard and keep up with her studies. Premi is one of three children. Her parents and older brother work… Continue reading Putting community at the heart of our work

Hospital strengthening – how building up health systems improves sustainability

Working as a nurse in a clinic in Ghana’s densely-populated Awutu Senya District, Joana Annobil treated a wide range of medical issues – from diabetes to hypertension. But there was one issue that consistently stood out to her as having the biggest impact on patients’ lives: vision loss. “Our eyes are like the light of… Continue reading Hospital strengthening – how building up health systems improves sustainability

Gift of Sight: Cataract surgery spares Benjamin from a life of avoidable blindness

Every day, 10-year-old Benjamin in Kenya proudly leads his family’s goats out to graze, a chore that once seemed unthinkable, because from a young age, Benjamin was blind. Benjamin lives with his parents and six siblings in the village of Olookitareti in Kajiado County. The family struggles financially; Benjamin’s father Joshua has a chronic illness,… Continue reading Gift of Sight: Cataract surgery spares Benjamin from a life of avoidable blindness