Clear Eyes and Jobs for Women in Rural Bangladesh

Reema is a 25-year- old lady working in BRAC Vision Centre, an Orbis partner in Bangladesh.

She was born in Charteki village in Kishoreganj, Bangladesh. Her late father passed away in 2009 and her mother has been supporting the family of seven since then.

Reema completed her Higher Secondary Education in 2011 but could not continue her education as her family was too poor. Strong-hearted Reema did not let this stop her from fulfilling her dream of becoming a nurse and serving her community.

She joined a one-year training course for Mid-level Ophthalmic Personnel at the Ispahani Islamia Eye Institute and Hospital, another Orbis partner, and quickly found a job at BRAC after completing the course. She attended two other Orbis-supported training courses before being deployed to her current workplace at BRAC Vision Centre at Durmuria in Khulna, Bangladesh.

Now, she screens patients, conducts tele-consultation with the Ophthalmologist at the base hospital, refers patients for further treatment and prescribes medicine. She serves 8 to 10 patients daily.

She describes her work “It is a noble profession to bring the light back to patient’s life and I want to continue this profession for long time. I could go closer to the community. Women in rural area normally do not come for treatment. So it is an opportunity to bring the light back to patient’s life and I can serve more people (women) with quality service on eye care.”

Women like Reema play a vital role in delivering different primary eye care services in their communities. By training these women, you are helping to ensure that these women can earn a stable income while serving their neighbours. Your support makes all these possible. By supporting our training programs, you are empowering women, improving eye health systems and saving sight of many all at once. Thank you.

Always grateful,
Jasmine