“It is hard for me to do any work and travel anywhere. I can’t recognize faces easily,” says Hun, a 60-year-old wife and grandmother who farms rice in Cambodia.
“Three years ago, Hun developed a cataract in each eye,” explains our medical partner, Children’s Surgical Centre (CSC). “She is afraid of the bright sun and has blurred vision.”
A cataract is a thickened, cloudy lens. Over time, the altered lens loses its ability to focus light properly, resulting in blurry or dull vision and difficulty seeing faraway objects. Cataracts account for 50 percent of all cases of blindness worldwide, and formation typically occurs in both eyes, as Hun is experiencing.
$225 will cover the cost of surgery to remove the cloudy lenses from both of Hun’s eyes and replace them with artificial lenses. Funding for Hun’s treatment also includes post-operative follow-up care. After surgery, “Hun will have improved vision and regained independence,” CSC tells us.
“I hope I can see everything better than now,” says Hun, who is eager to return to work at the farm and go to the pagoda by herself to listen to the monks pray. “I won’t have to worry so much anymore.”