Blindness & Poverty

Family Saved From Poverty After Blindness is Cured | The Tej Kohli & Ruit Foundation

In the Kalikot District of Nepal sat a small village that was home to Rupkeuda and her son. The area where they lived was isolated and cut off from the rest of the world. Neither Rupkeuda nor her community had easy access to healthcare or the means to travel to the nearest hospital.

Rupkeuda in a chair outside her home, unaware of anything that's happening beside her due to her deteriorating sight. For a while she had been suffering with cataract blindness. Sometimes, when she is thirsty, she does not even bother asking for water, because she perceives herself to be an extreme burden to her family. Rupkeuda once looked forward to waking up in the mornings, to go about her day working in the fields, visiting her neighbours, and simply sitting in her garden looking out. Today, she has lost all hope.

One day, her son, Jagat Rokaya heard of a screening camp coming to their village, and determined that he would take his mother to the camp. At the camp, the Tej Kohli & Ruit Foundation screening team informed the family that Rupkeuda was living with cataract blindness, and would have to undergo surgery.

A little worried about the expenses, the family was extremely relieved after they were informed that the surgery was being taken care of by the Tej Kohli & Ruit Foundation, as part of its global exercise to help end poverty-induced needless blindness in the developing world.

On the morning of the 12th, Jagat made the long walk to the camp with his mother on his back, almost 3 hours of walk through treacherous hilly side terrain. This was the last time Jagat would have to carry his mother - because, in a few days, she would be seeing clearly again.

At the camp, Dr Manish Khatiwada skillfully removed Rupkeuda's cataracts and patched her up.

The next morning, Rupkeuda lined up with 71 others who had undergone surgery at the microsurgical camp the previous day. She was unaware that these were her final moments of living in darkness.

After Dr Manish removed her patches, she slowly opened her eyes - and almost instantly smiled. Stunned in the beginning, she thanked the doctor and everyone who had helped her see again.

Not perceiving herself as a burden anymore, she now looks forward to helping out at home and continuing to live her life free from visual impairment.

A little-known fact is that needless blindness is not only a cause but also a consequence of extreme poverty. Living with limited means, Jagat, her son was unable to set aside the money required for his mother's surgery. He could have sold his entire property to cure his mother's blindness, but the family would have to live in extreme poverty after.

Rid of the nagging fear that his mother was living with needless blindness, and cured without having to sell anything, Jagat looks forward to returning home and working harder at his small business to improve his family's economic condition.