Sight for 10,000 Poor Blind Children in Pakistan

Kanwal Resumes Precious Playtime with Her Baby Sister

Playing with dolls and hanging out in the courtyard is a favorite pastime for five-year-old Kanwal and her younger sister. They spend hours playing pretend games under their grandmother’s watchful eye. Kanwal’s grandmother and mother noticed that while their younger daughter is very chirpy and active, Kanwal is relatively quiet and keeps to herself. As each evening would approach and darkness would envelope the house and their village, Kanwal would withdraw to the corner of the room and would not like to move around much. Often she would bump into things or have trouble focusing on her toys. Her parents would wonder why Kanwal keeps dropping things and often trips while walking. Her baby sister has made it a personal mission to assist Kanwal in cleaning up a mess if she drops something or to dust off her clothes if she falls down, so that Kanwal does not get into trouble with her mother and they can continue to play together.

Kanwal resides in a rented house in a small village, near Ghotki, Pakistan. Her father, Nazakat, works as a labor supervisor nearby and they struggle to make both ends meet. After a fall Kanwal’s father consulted a private doctor in Ghotki, who told him that she will need an eye surgery under anesthesia. Nazakat and his wife felt like they had been struck by a lightning bolt. It was difficult for them to fathom that something could be wrong with their eldest child. They wondered how long Kanwal had been struggling with fuzzy vision and if she would ever be alright.

Her parents were eager to seek help for Kanwal, so that she too could lead a normal life and continue to play with her sister. Nazakat was familiar with LRBT, since Kanwal’s maternal uncle had also received treatment there. Affording the train fare to Karachi was not easy, but Nazakat somehow managed to bring Kanwal to the LRBT Korangi Hospital in Karachi. Here she was diagnosed with congenital cataract in both eyes. Although arranging travel and accommodation in Karachi was challenging for Nazakat, but he was ecstatic that Kanwal’s cataract has been treated within a fortnight of first visiting LRBT and they have returned to their village. While Kanwal and her family look forward to returning to LRBT for the surgery of her second eye, Kanwal is happy to resume her precious playtime with her baby sister.

It is a pleasure to report that over 250,000 children have benefitted from free eye treatment at LRBT in 2022 and we are confident that due to the generosity of our donors many more children will benefit from LRBT services in 2023.

10-year-old Hamza had congenital cataract in both eyes which was slowly developing. Hamza’s parents got to know about his condition through his school as they were called in by the principal to discuss his lack of interest in studies. After inquiring with Hamza and school administration, they got to know that Hamza is unable to see properly and his vision has become hazy over the period of time and also is not able to see properly in dark.

They took him to the doctor in their area, where they were informed that Hamza has congenital cataract in both his eyes which had slowly developed over a period of time. Upon knowing the cost of the treatment they were worried as they were hardly making ends meet. As both of Hamza’s parents are working in a garment factory where his father is machine operator and mother works as a cropper and running the household on their meagre salaries they earn. They live in a two room rented house. They were in a dilemma how to get the treatment done as they did not have any savings at all and through their jobs they were not earning much.

However, as their garment factory was near LRBT Korangi Hospital, and they used to see it daily while their commute to and fro work. When they inquired about the hospital at their workplace they got to know about LRBT more and how they are providing free treatment for different eye ailments to the underprivileged patients and many of their colleagues have also benefited and are satisfied from the services being provided at the hospital. They took Hamza to LRBT Korangi hospital, over there all their worries were taken care off and surgery of Hamza was planned.

After the cataract surgeries of both the eyes, his parents were thankful to LRBT, specially her mother overwhelmed with emotions said “when they found out about their son’s condition they lost all the hope as they could not afford the treatment. LRBT and its staff has been a ray of hope, as at LRBT they were treated with utmost care and their son is able to see again.” Hamza is happy to be back at school and excelling in his studies.

6-year-old, Wali is a resident of Gharo a small town outside Karachi. He is studying in Grade 1 and is a studious child who loves going to school. He also loves playing football with his friends in the evening. While playing football the ball hit him in the eye. His friends brought him home he was crying helplessly due to excruciating pain in his left eye. Wali’s father Raj Muhammad immediately took him to the local clinic, however doctor only gave Wali some painkillers and sent him home. The pain did ease, but over a period of time Wali started to complain about hazy vision.

Raj was unable to find work as he is a daily wager, he was feeling helpless as his son was on the verge of losing eyesight. He started to ask for help, one of the neighbors a local volunteer of LRBT Adi Shama told Raj not to lose hope. Very next day she took them to the LRBT’s Primary Eye Health Clinic for Wali’s checkup. Over there the optometrist diagnosed Traumatic Cataract and gave them the date for further checkup and surgery at LRBT Korangi Karachi.

Raj was again worried as he started thinking about how he will commute to Karachi for the surgery, Adii Shama took care of his worries by telling him that every fortnight a vehicle takes the patients to Karachi. Where the patients are admitted and their consultations and surgeries take place. Raj was ecstatic to know that all his worries were taken care of by his neighbor Adi Shama and her association with LRBT. As all his expenses were taken care of in terms of Free of Charge treatment including cataract surgery, medicines and the travelling expense as well. On the day of Wali’s surgery both father and son embarked on their journey to Karachi along with all the patients which were aligned for checkup and surgery.

He had a successful surgery and is back home recovering. He cannot wait to go back to school and seeing his son back to his usual chirpy self his father upon leaving the hospital said, “LRBT is a savior for many like us, we thank Allah for enabling us to come to this hospital where every worry of mine was taken care off. I am happy that our little Wali will recover and will have a fulfilling life.”

Ismail a 6-year-old, having congenital cataract, a rare birth defect of the eye that can cause vision problems or blindness. A congenital cataract happens when the lens of the eye is cloudy instead of clear.

His parents were worried as they only had two children, a 12-year-old girl and then Ismail. Ismail’s father has a private job as an office boy and they live in a rented home. In their meagre income Ismail’s parents are hardly able to make ends meet. Ismail’s parents got to know about his condition when he was a year old, when they took him to a local clinic for a checkup the doctor examined him and told them about Ismail’s condition and the cost of treatment involved. When Ismail’s father told him about his background and inability to pursue the treatment, doctor advised him to visit LRBT Korangi.

Over the period of years, he has been successfully treated at LRBT and now can see the world clearly with hope and dreams in his eyes. Ismail’s parents were very thankful and beaming with happiness. Keep donating to LRBT to keep the dreams of these children alive. A small amount goes a long way in ensuring a bright future.

Here is the story of 7-year-old twins Aslam and Shahira and their older brother, 9-year-old Muhammad.

They are the children of a mason, Ahmed, who is a daily wage earner and mother Rukhsana who works 3 jobs to help her husband to run the house and ensure that their children are able to go to school. Their only chance at a better future is for their children to have an education and eventually get good jobs. However, when their children started to hesitate before going to school, their parents started to get worried. Rukhsana said,’ They kept complaining about lagging behind as they could not see properly, each morning, getting them to school became a cumbersome task. Shahira would cry and her brothers would throw tantrums, but we could not afford to have them miss school."

Diagnosed with cataract at birth, the lives of all 3 children were severely impacted. Otherwise brilliant students, they started to lag behind in school due to their deteriorating vision and were on the verge of dropping out. Worried about the cost of treatment, the helpless parents were at a loss of who to turn to for help. Fortunately, they got to know about LRBT and brought their children in for a checkup. All 3 children were successfully operated upon absolutely free of cost and are now back to school. 

Thousands of children yearning for the blessing of sight come to LRBT everyday for treatment and walk out with the chance to live a fulfilling life and have a bright future.