Give Sight
My name is Peter Kyalo Mwalimu, and I have the honour and privilege of joining Hope and Healing International as Executive Director. I’m excited to work alongside you as, together, we care for the most vulnerable kids in the world.
Bernadette’s Story
Bernadette knows about loss and an uncertain future. She’s never known her father, and her mother died when she was a year old… just a few months after little Bernadette was diagnosed with cataracts.
Her grandmother has been taking care of her ever since. Her grandmother is her rock, especially as Bernadette’s eyesight has deteriorated. But there isn’t enough money to get Bernadette the eye care she needs to save her sight.
And now, her grandmother’s health is failing. Bernadette does all she can to help, but everything is becoming more difficult as her eyesight fades and the world becomes blurrier.
Without medical care, Bernadette will slowly go blind.
This Easter, you can stop that from happening. You can give sight to a child like Bernadette.
CATARACTS are a leading cause of blindness among children in Africa.
An ESTIMATED 50% of children who lose their sight will die within 1-2 years of going blind.
Of those who survive, ONLY 1 IN 10 will go to school.
What is a Cataract?
A cataract is a clouding of the lens within the eye. It blocks the passage of light to the retina so the nerve cells can’t send clear pictures to the brain about what the eye is seeing.
Causes of cataracts in children
What is cataract surgery?
When a child like Bernadette needs cataract surgery, doctors use special surgical instruments and techniques. Unlike adult cataract surgeries, children also require general anaesthesia. The surgeon makes a small incision in the child’s cornea and removes the cataract by removing the cloudy lens. Then the doctor inserts a new, clear plastic lens and closes the cornea with tiny stitches that dissolve on their own. It’s a detailed procedure that requires extra precision and gives sight literally overnight – sight that you can make possible today!
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead
– 1 PETER 1:3 (NIV)