Abelino is a 58 year old man from Guatemala who has nine children, six of whom still live with him. He works sewing leather sandals and as a day laborer at a coffee plantation near his home. However, his true passion is playing the trumpet and the piano.
Abelino has a non-cancerous growth on his right eye, due to decades of sun exposure as a day laborer. It has restricted his vision in that eye, and has made it constantly painful and itchy for the past three years.
The growth, also known as a pterygium, has made it impossible for Abelino to read. Before his vision got so bad, he used to read the Bible or another book every day.
If Abelino does not receive surgery, the growth is likely to get bigger, further restrict his vision, and worsen the burning sensation he feels in his eye. For $1,487 we can fund surgery to remove the pterygium from his eye, restoring his vision and allowing him to read once again.
"My life is very valuable to me, and my eyes are an important part of my body. I would like to see with this eye, that I use in every aspect of my life. I ask for your help, and I know that God will bless all you do to help a fellow human," Abelino says.