Seven-year-old Sandra lives in a rural village in northern Burundi with her parents who support their family through subsistence farming. As a toddler and young child, Sandra’s vision began to deteriorate but because she was so young she didn’t understand that she was different than other children. When she was 6 years old, her elementary school teacher noticed that she couldn’t see the board clearly and notified her parents.
Sandra’s parents didn’t know what to do. They didn’t know if their daughter could be helped and couldn’t afford to take her to a doctor. After a year, they heard about a nearby Community Eye Centre, about an hour away, and decided to take Sandra. They weren’t sure what to expect because they’d never been to a doctor before but they were willing to try anything to help their daughter.
At the Community Eye Centre, Sandra was diagnosed with a cataract in her left eye and was transported, along with her parents, to the Eye Hospital. At the hospital the ophthalmologist and nurse calmed the worried parents and explained that they were going to take great care of their daughter and that they would be able to restore her sight, free of charge. Apprehensive but hopeful, Sandra’s parents agreed to let the eye care team perform sight-restoring cataract surgery on their daughter.
After Sandra’s eye patch was removed the next day and she was provided with a pair of prescription glasses, she smiled shyly as she saw clearly for the first time in years. Sandra’s parents were told that a follow up plan would be set up to make sure that Sandra’s vision was monitored as she continued to grow.
“She can now see without difficulties and can follow along easily in class! We are so relieved and thankful to everyone who helped her see!” said Sandra’s mother.
“She can now see without difficulties and can follow along easily in class! We are so relieved and thankful to everyone who helped her see!” said Sandra’s mother.
