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Glen Jackson
Bob Jackson’s gift of sight lives on
“I don’t think I was prepared for what I was going to see,” said Glen Jackson.
He was referring to his visit to Eswatini where he witnessed sight-restoring eye surgeries.
Glen Jackson’s late brother, Bob, had given a gift in his Will that was used to purchase an ophthalmic microscope for Hope and Healing’s partner, The Luke Commission.
“The ophthalmic microscope is an incredible machine. It’s a large microscope which allows a surgeon — an eye surgeon — to visualize the tiny little eye and operate on these eyes.
“When I was in Eswatini, there were 135 blind people lined up for the week and each day they’d do about 20 or 25 cataract surgeries. They also did a corneal transplant, [repaired] a few lacerations. And these people who had been blind, often for years, lined up the next day to have their bandages removed.
“You have never, in your life, ever seen such joy in anyone. In their smiles, in their dancing, in their singing hymns and praising God. It was such a tremendous experience for me,” said Glen.
Although Bob and Glen grew up in a modest home, they were taught the importance of giving back.
Their parents lived through the Depression. Glen remembers stories his mother told. Her family wasn’t affluent, but his grandfather had a job. His mother said they always had a pot of soup on the stove because there were so many homeless people looking for food.
Glen said of his mother, ”She could cook a hotdog in more ways than anyone, and we thought we were having a different meal every night.
“We didn’t have a car. We didn’t have a TV… then my father bought a bankrupt business and things started to go really well.”
Once things looked up, his father set up the O’Brien-Jackson Family Foundation that donated to charities of the family’s choice.
For me, there’s a tremendous joy in giving.
– GLEN JACKSON
Glen went to Catholic school right through to high school. “I had wonderful teachers who were nuns and… it seemed to me they donated their whole lives to helping others. My uncle, the priest… he died recently… on his tombstone I put, ‘A life of giving’.
“So in my life… I’m truly blessed. When I look at the people around me, my parents, my grandparents, my aunts and uncles… I was surrounded with people who gave.”
You can join Glen Jackson and remember Hope and Healing International with your own legacy of love. It’s easy to arrange and our friendly staff would be pleased to help you. Your future gift will make a world of difference to children and families living in poverty with disabilities.
For more information about a leaving a gift in your Will to Hope and Healing International, please fill out our Request for Information form or call us at 1.800.567.2264.
Your request for information is confidential and will not obligate you to make a gift.
