Meet 70-year-old Tim from Cambodia. "Tim is married with three sons, one daughter, and six grandchildren," says our medical partner, Children’s Surgical Centre (CSC). "She enjoys visiting the pagoda to listen to the monks pray, planting crops around her home, and caring for her grandchildren. She traveled three hours with her daughter to reach CSC." Tim has glaucoma and a cataract in each eye. Glaucoma is a condition that causes damage to the optic nerve, while cataracts lead to clouding of the eye lens. Glaucoma and cataracts worsen with time, resulting in diminished vision. "She is partially blind, experiences tearing, pain, burning, and is afraid of the sunshine," explains CSC. "She can not see everything clearly, recognize faces, do work well, or go anywhere outside by herself." For $300, Tim will receive trabeculectomy surgery. The surgery "will release the pressure in her eye caused by glaucoma. Her vision will improve and her pain will be relieved," continues CSC. Tim's daughter remains hopeful that her mother's pain will soon come to an end. She shares,"I hope my mother can see everything clearly again and not be in pain anymore, and she can easily do any work and walk anywhere by herself." Tim is eager to heal properly and return to daily life. She says, "I hope my eyes can see everything clearly as normal again. I would like to do any work well and easily go anywhere outside by myself, too."

“Eng developed a cataract in each eye two years ago,” says our medical partner, Children’s Surgical Centre (CSC). 64-year-old Eng lives with his family in Cambodia. Cataracts occur as proteins develop in the lens of the eye, causing cloudiness. Without treatment, the cloudiness increases over time and results in slowly deteriorating vision. This condition, which can ultimately result in total blindness, is especially common in regions near the equator because of high UV exposure. CSC explains that due to his condition, Eng experiences, “blurred vision, burning, and tearing. He cannot see everything clearly or recognize people’s faces. He cannot read or watch TV.” In Cambodia, 90% of blindness is avoidable with medical intervention. As with many countries in the developing world, surgical services are inadequate and cataracts remain the leading cause of blindness globally. Even where surgical services are available, barriers to treatment--including cost, shortage of medical staff, and poor infrastructure--remain prevalent. $225 covers the cost of surgery to treat Eng’s cataracts. In each of his eyes, doctors will make a small incision to surgically remove the clouded lens and replace it with a new, artificial substitute. CSC tells us that the father of seven and grandfather of 12 enjoys listening to social news on the radio, watching the news on TV, and reading the newspaper. With restored vision, he will be able to return to his normal lifestyle. Eng says, “I hope I can see everything clearly again so I can watch TV, read, and recognize faces.” His son shares, “I hope my father can see everything clearly again so I don’t have to worry about his eye being a problem in the future.”