A day in the life of Laurinda

How much would your daily routine change if you lost your sight, and had no support to live independently?

Meet Laurinda – a young mum living in rural Mozambique who lost her sight due to blinding cataracts in both eyes. We spent time with Laurinda and were shocked to see some of the day-to-day challenges she faces living with blindness.

Laurinda lives in a small village called Luli, which is four hours’ drive from a hospital that could provide sight-saving sugery. That’s too far for Laurinda to travel, so for the last four years she’s lived every day with blindness, when an operation taking less than 20 minutes could restore her sight.

Everyday tasks that you or I might take for granted have become a struggle for Laurinda. She used to farm to make a living for herself, her seven children and her grandchildren. But now she’s reliant on her family for everything.

8am

While you or I might be eating breakfast, taking the kids to school, or heading off to work, Laurinda’s children lead her to the fountain where they collect water for the day…

“My daughter does everything … prepares food, washes my clothes, cooks for me and fetches water.”

11am

Blindness affects Laurinda’s livelihood. Imagine losing your sight and not being able to go to work, where most of us probably are at this time of day? Unable to see, and without support, Laurinda can’t work anymore. And because she can’t farm, she has no crops to sell, and no way to feed her family. Her only choice is to rely on her children to do the work for her.

“I don‘t have money because there is nothing I can do to earn money.”

All Laurinda wants is to regain her sight, and with it, her independence.

“I dream about farming to grow a variety of crops to feed my family and myself.”

1pm

When Laurinda went blind, her teenage daughter Aida took over caring for the family. Laurinda’s reliant on Aida to farm for her, wash for her and, at mealtimes, cook for her as well.

“Because of blindness … I can‘t hoe, I can‘t go to the fountain, I can‘t cook.”

5pm

At 5pm, many of us are getting ready to leave work. But Laurinda just sits outside her hut all day worrying about the future. She says her husband left her when she lost her sight, because he “got tired of helping me”.

“These days I just sit … there isn’t anyone to help me … I’m not married, I’m just worried.”

8pm

What would you usually be doing at this time of day? Maybe you’re out socialising with colleagues or friends? With no sight, no husband, and no friends, Laurinda feels isolated and completely alone.

But there’s hope for Laurinda. A £30 cataract operation could restore her sight, and give her a chance to go back to farming, cooking and caring for her children again. It doesn’t seem like much when you think about how much you might spend on your evening out.

“When I heal I’ll go back to hoeing, have something to eat and dress my children.”

“When I get my sight back I will farm and harvest crops.”

“I have never seen my grandchildren … they will be very happy when they realise I can see.”

We’re working to make sure Laurinda gets the sight-saving cataract surgery she needs but we can’t do it alone: we need support from people like you to help Laurinda see again. Follow Laurinda’s story and learn how you can support our work at millionmiracles.org