“Eventually I had to leave school. It made me very unhappy.” – Khadijat, 14
Your support can transform the lives of children living with treatable blindness in Nigeria.
Too many children in Nigeria are needlessly blind due to cataracts.
Khadijat, 14, Jamila, 12, and Isah, 9, live in Nigeria, West Africa. Although all three children began their education, sight loss, caused by cataracts, soon became problematic – threatening their schooling, their ability to play with friends, and their right to a childhood free from treatable blindness.
Jamilu, their father, was also born with an eye condition, and knows the pain of sight loss all too well. “Losing my sight significantly impacted my life. When you can’t see, it complicates everything,” he explained.
Jamilu didn’t want his children to go through the same struggles he had, but the family were unable to afford treatment. “Whenever the children came back from school, they would complain about not seeing anything and experiencing eye pain.”
“Some of my classmates would call me a ‘blind girl’.”
Jamila who was was mocked by her classmates and had to leave school due to the blindness caused by cataracts, told us: “When I found out I had an eye problem, I was extremely unhappy. It was a difficult time for me… Some of my classmates would call me a ‘blind girl’. Their words made me feel bad and worried.”
Her younger brother Isah was also bullied when he lost his sight. “Both of my eyes had problems. My classmates used to call me a blind person. It hurt me a lot, and made me cry.”
No child should be blind just because they are poor. Together, with your support and the dedicated work of our local partners, we are ensuring that children in some of the world’s poorest places, including Nigeria, can access eye care services, have their sight restored, and return to school.
“In school, when the teacher wrote on the board, I couldn’t see clearly unless I moved closer. Sometimes, by the time I moved, parts of the board were already erased, and I couldn’t complete my notes. Eventually I had to leave school. It made me very unhappy. ”
– Khadijat, aged 14 from Nigeria, West Africa
“They are amazed by how beautiful the world looks, now they can see perfectly.” – Jamilu
Any gift you make will make a tangible difference – just as it has for Khadijat, Jamila and Isah.
Thanks to the generosity of people like you, they have been able to experience the transformation that cataract surgery makes possible. All three children have now had their sight restored and have been able to return to school. They can now gain an education and build futures full of opportunity.
Jamila shared, “God has been gracious, and I’ve been able to return to school. Everyone is surprised and happy for me.”
Khadijat, too, is overjoyed by the impact of your support. “Before I couldn’t play with friends, but now I can. We sit together, chat, and play games.”
No child should be blind just because their family is poor. Together, we can build a world in which nobody is left behind.
Focus on: Nigeria, West Africa
We have been working with partners in Nigeria since 1968 to prevent blindness, support disability inclusion, and improve health care.
Over 24 million people in Nigeria are living with vision problems. There are thousands experiencing sight loss, exclusion and pain, who need support to access sight-saving care.
In partnership with ECWA Eye Hospital we are currently working to increase access to affordable eye care services, and improve the quality of life for people living with sight loss Nigeria.
Your support is crucial in enabling this essential work, and continuing to transform the lives of children like Khadijat, Jamila and Isah.
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Bring the World into Focus for children and adults living with treatable sight loss today.