Sightsavers - Ibrahim’s Story
Morogoro, Tanzania. Ibrahim had cataracts and had been blind for many years. Before that, he’d been a farmer and made a good income that supported his family. Now, dependent on them to look after him, this proud and dignified man was about to have his sight restored by Sightsavers as part of their Million Miracles Campaign. Helped in that morning by his brother-in-law who led him carefully through the crowds of people, he sat in his world of darkness and waited.
Helped by nurses, he was prepared for surgery. I’m not nervous, he said, I want to see my family again. During one day, the team can carry out 60-70 cataract operations; if there are no complications, the procedure can take about 20 minutes.
Afterwards he was taken home, wearing sunglasses to protect his fragile new eyes. He went for a walk through the village with his sisters, and then out to his farm, a walk he hadn’t been able to do for many years. Neighbours came out to greet him and remind him of what they looked like. A happy man again, his life had been literally changed in the blink of an eye.
