Sight for 10,000 Poor Blind Children in Pakistan

Fatima came home from school happy that day. She quickly finished her lunch, completed her homework and went out to play. But this day she was not to return home tired and content after playing with her siblings and friends from the neighborhood. This day was different…

A student of KG 2, hair up in a pony tail and outwardly shy in her demeanor, she has a smile that lights up the room. She is the youngest of four siblings. Unfortunately for them, her father lost his job a couple of months ago due to illness. They live with her uncle who is married and has five children of his own. He has given them a roof over their heads and manages the house expenses. The family together manages with their meager income and they contribute whatever little they can.

They struggle but are content and that’s visible from the peace on their faces. Fatima their youngest is a joy for her parents, with her ready smile she makes friends easily. Every day after coming back from school she has her lunch, does her homework and goes out to play. Today was no different; she stepped out to play, but in no time at all her play ended abruptly when one of the children that Fatima had been playing with, accidently poked her in the eye with a sharp object. Upon hearing Fatima’s cry for help, Shamsa immediately alerted her husband and they rushed Fatima to a nearby neighborhood clinic. She was given first aid and the doctor advised Fatima’s parents to keenly observe her for the next few days and to go to an Ophthalmologist immediately at the first sign of white spots in her eye or if she complained of poor vision.

Not able to sleep or eat and sick with worry, Shama watched Fatima like a hawk. Initially Fatima’s eye appeared to be healing but a couple of weeks later Shamsa noticed that Fatima did not focus on objects like other children did and a white spot had started to show. Shamsa knew that there might have to be a surgery and asked her husband to take a loan from relatives so that they could show her to a good Ophthalmologist. Despite their best efforts they were able to raise only Rs. 15,000. Shamsa feared that if they delayed taking Fatima for treatment, her eye might worsen.

Fatima’s uncle while watching the news had seen a clip of a young girl, Fatima’s age who could not see and she was saving money for her surgery but she was taken to an eye hospital that treated the poor for free. He recalled the name and asked his friends about it, he was told its LRBT hospital in Korangi.

He told his brother and together they took Fatima for a checkup. Fatima was examined thoroughly in the Pediatric department and her left eye was operated upon. Her follow up visit showed the surgery was successful. Shamsa who for some time had feared that her daughter had lost her future with the accident heard the sweetest words possible, “Fatima can see clearly again, you have nothing to worry about.”

Fatima is back to her usual routine just more careful this time while playing.

• BABY_FATIMA.docx (DOCX)

“Amma, amma”, cried 3 year old Monis as a shard of glass hit him in the eye. He was not aware of how it happened, just that one minute he was playing and the next he felt excruciating pain in his left eye.

Saima ran outside fearing the worst as she heard her youngest child’s cry of pain. When she saw little Monis holding his hand tightly over his eye and a drop of blood falling out she almost fainted. Within seconds her mind became a reel of images of her beloved child either going blind or having a disfigured eye for life. She panicked and started shouting for help. Her elder daughter ran to their neighbor’s house; the neighbor’s son drove a rickshaw and luckily he was home and took them to the nearest hospital.

The emergency doctor examined Monis and reassured the worried mother that thankfully the shard of glass was not lodged in his eye. He prescribed eye drops and sent them home. Not quite satisfied, Saima closely monitored Monis over the next couple of days. It soon became apparent that something was amiss when Monis was unable to see faraway objects clearly. Over time the injury had turned into cataract. Seeing Monis become distant and quiet was devastating for the family. Monis’s father, Mohsin, worked as an office messenger in a factory and was already struggling to make both ends meet as he was the only bread earner for a family of six. He asked for a loan to take his son to a good ophthalmologist but his request was refused.

Due to his condition Monis, had to be withdrawn from preschool. The young child could not fathom why his life had changed so drastically, he used to beg his mother to let him go outside to play and often asked when his eyes would get better.

Mohsin could not bear the melancholic atmosphere that had befallen his previously lively home. He would get up at night daily to pray, something he had not done in a while, hoping for a miracle. Good news came a couple of weeks later when some relatives contributed whatever little they could for his treatment. Mohsin took his son for a checkup and the doctor diagnosed cataract in his left eye and high refractive error in his right one. The doctor told Mohsin to take the earliest possible date for surgery but seeing Mohsin’s crestfallen expression he knew something was amiss. Mohsin confided that they could not afford any such treatment and he was unable to hold back his tears.

The doctor having seen many such people who were deprived of care and would often spend their lives in darkness because of unaffordability advised him to take Monis to LRBT. He assured Mohsin that his son would get quality care at no cost.

Monis was examined thoroughly in the pediatric department at LRBT’s largest hospital in Korangi. He had a successful surgery and the look of pure joy on his face when the bandage came off was a sight to behold. At his follow-up, Mohsin while waiting for their turn came to thank the staff at LRBT and said, “Seeing Monis playing with his brother and sister just like before fills my heart with unspeakable joy, my child came so close to being condemned to a life of darkness and misery, his future stolen from him. I cannot thank LRBT and its donors enough for enabling my son to see once again.”

• Monis pictures (DOCX)