A Million Miracles by Sightsavers on Exposure

A Million Miracles is Sightsavers’ biggest ever campaign to support the work we do. The campaign aims to fund one million operations that will restore, save and protect people’s sight in some of the poorest parts of the world.

Our child eye health programme in Uganda, Seeing is Believing, is a collaboration with Standard Chartered Bank and The International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness.

Dr proscovia

Dr Arach Proscovia is one of only four specialists in Paediatric Ophthalmology in Uganda and was therefore invaluable to our week of screening and treatment under Standard Chartered’s Seeing is Believing child eye health programme. Dr Proscovia led the team at the outreach clinic which was established to carry out screenings in some of the most remote areas in the country. These outreach clinics are essential as, often the distance that people need to travel to seek medical attention, and the costs of such a significant journey, can mean that people do not receive treatment in time or at all.

Part of Dr Proscovia’s training was funded by Sightsavers, she said “I have been trained and I think I am contributing to their success and the success stories of children here in Uganda.”

Doreen

Seven-year-old Doreen was a quietly confident girl, yet with two hidden cataracts covering both of her pupils, she had slowly been going blind - much to the confusion of her father and school teachers. By the time we met her at the outreach clinic, Doreen was being guided everywhere by her Father or younger sister. Her Father, John Robert, was obviously very concerned for her well being and for her future.

Thanks to Sightsavers’ outreach clinic, the Child Eye Health programme identified Doreen as in need of treatment and was able to cover the costs of transportation to the Benedictine Eye Hospital, where her surgery would take place.

Reymond

Reymond, aged 13, was diagnosed with bilateral cataracts and therefore required surgery on both of his eyes, something which his mother understandably found very upsetting. She was comforted and assured by Sightsavers’ project staff that this diagnosis was a good thing as it meant that, after treatment, Reymond’s sight would be improved and his future would be brighter.

It’s thanks to the radio announcement made by the medical team in the week leading up to the outreach clinic, that Reymond’s mum knew where to bring her son to get his eyes tested; she told us “If I hadn’t had the radio, I would have remained ignorant and my son would still be blind”.

Reymond's Mum was "nothing but excited when his bandages were taken off"

The nurse removes Reymond's bandages after having cataract surgery on both of his eyes.

"I'm very confident that he'll be able to concentrate, to see in class and study very well" said Reymond's mum after his treatmennt

Mercy

The cataract in Mercy’s right eye was extremely visible and was causing her eye to become lazy, looking off centre. She told her mother, Esther, that when she covered her left eye, she couldn’t really see out of the other one at all. The medical team were, however, confident that by using an eye patch post-surgery, the other eye would be strengthened and return to normal.

Mercy, aged eight, was extremely shy and hid behind her sister a lot when we first met her. But Esther was excited about the change that the surgery would mean for Mercy saying “I was excited that after the operation, she would be able to engage well at school with clear vision.”

Emmanuel

Emmanuel’s mum was very calm about the diagnosis of her son’s double cataracts, she saw it as a positive step towards the improvement of his sight. Six-year-old Emmanuel was extremely quiet and shy, perhaps as a result of his visual impairment. But like Esther, Emmanuel’s mother was confident that his surgery would be a success!

Emmanuel was lucky that, thanks to generous donations from our supporters, he was able to get free transport to the hospital for his treatment. Its not always this simple for people living in rural Uganda.

Emmanuel travelling to the Benedictine Eye Hospital in the Sightsavers project vehicle.

Emmanuel gets his bandages removed after surgery to remove the cataracts in both eyes.

Emmanuel's Mum was looking forward to seeing the improvement in her son's sight.

Criscent

Before his surgery, the big cataracts in both of his eyes meant that Criscent was barely able to see objects in his path, he would cling to the wall and feel his way around. Thanks to donations covering the travel costs, he was finally able to make the journey from his extremely rural home with his Grandmother and was, unusually, excited about his surgery. He simply said that he was looking forward to “more light” after the operation.

Following his operation, Criscent was seen running around in the hospital grounds, enjoying his first game of football, often stopping to scrutinise the bright pink ball, seeing the colours and patterns much more clearly than before! He was back to being the sociable, inquisitive and confident child that he was before.

We’ll follow up Criscent’s story soon; after having regular check ups and once he has been fitted with spectacles, we hope to find him sitting in class delighting his teacher with his polite and thoughtful manner and strikingly sharp mind.

Read more about Criscent and keep your eye out for more updates on his progress.

Moses okipi

Moses is Sightsavers’ local project coordinator at our child cataract project in Uganda. He looks after many of the practical aspects of managing and running the project, such as planning, budgeting, supervision, mobilisation and the radio outreach that raises awareness of the programme. He also provides emotional support to the children and their families through the unfamiliar and often scary journey from diagnosis to surgery and recovery.

Moses’s positive attitude has a positive effect on everyone he meets, it also helps reassure the patients through the screening process and during their stay at the hospital. He is extremely dedicated to the project and said “What I really love is reaching out to the children, especially those who are poor. It gives me a lot of inspiration to see that, when an announcement is made, those who are in need turn up. That gives me a lot of energy. The whole thing is really inspiring.” without people like Moses working in our projects, we would struggle to reach and treat the number of children that we do.