Combating childhood blindness

€35

The Combating Childhood Blindness campaign aims to reduce childhood blindness and create an infrastructure for preventing childhood blindness in Bangladesh by 2013.

When it comes to restoring sight, this work is incredibly time-sensitive. Unless a child's sight is restored before they are seven years old, there is a real risk that it ma be too late for them and learn how to see.

Fortunately, Nizam received his sight restoring cataract operation when he was just four years old.

Two days after his cataract operation, Nizam is recovering well and playing happily with his friends.

Six-year-old Tamanna Farouk would have become permanently blind without cataract surgery.

Tamanna is one of five children and comes from a poor family in Bangladesh. Her mother, Hassina, first noticed little white flecks in her right eye when she was just one.

At aged three Tamanna had a cataract operation on her right eye, but shortly afterwards Hassina noticed similar flecks developing in her other eye.

Three years later Tamanna has now had the left eye operated on and will return to school shortly. Her follow-up appointment will determine whether she needs to wear glasses to improve her sight further.

"I wasn't able to take her for treatment until three years later as we didn't have the money" Hassina, Tamanna's mother