Chansouk’s future was uncertain—until you stepped in
When Chansouk was just two years old, a fire exploded near her home, leaving her eyes badly injured. Her parents rushed her to the local hospital, but after days of treatment, she still couldn’t open her eyes. The injury never fully healed, and worse, a traumatic cataract began to develop, causing her vision to deteriorate year by year.
Growing up in a remote village in Laos, Chansouk’s poor sight caused her to stumble often, leading to frequent falls and hospital visits. “At home or on the farm, she would fall over quite often,” recalls her mother, Nam. By the time she was six, Chansouk had gone blind in one eye. Her parents feared she would face a life of disadvantage, with no access to the eye care she desperately needed.
Living in poverty with little access to healthcare, Chansouk’s family didn’t know her sight could be restored. It was in this seemingly hopeless situation that your support arrived.
When Chansouk was six years old, her parents finally found someone who could help. Thanks to your support, Chansouk was examined by Dr Senglar, an eye surgeon trained by The Fred Hollows Foundation. Dr Senglar explained that while one eye was already blind, urgent surgery could save the other.
Chansouk's story didn’t end in avoidable blindness — your kindness gave her a second chance at childhood.
Children like Chansouk are waiting to have their sight restored
Cataracts and other preventable causes of blindness are affecting thousands of people in Laos, including countless children like Chansouk. But barriers stand in their way:
- 35,000 people are already blind
- 7,000 people go blind from cataracts each year
- 16,000 people are currently waiting for cataract surgery
- 3 out of 5 people live in rural areas with limited access to eye care
- There are only 4 ophthalmologists per million people
The ongoing eye health challenge
Limited access to eye health services
In rural Laos, access to specialised eye health services is scarce. With few ophthalmologists and limited facilities, many people can't receive the treatment they need. Without proper care, children like Chansouk face the risk of avoidable blindness, affecting their education and future. Your generosity can help bring vital eye care to those who need it most.
Poverty and healthcare costs
Poverty is a significant barrier to receiving eye care in Laos. Families often can’t afford the cost of surgeries or even the journey to reach eye health centres. Your support helps cover these costs, allowing children like Chansouk to receive sight-restoring surgery and reclaim their future. Your kindness can remove financial barriers and restore sight to those in need.
Lack of awareness and education
In many communities, there’s little understanding of treatable conditions like cataracts. Families may not know that blindness can be avoided. By educating communities and training teachers and health workers, we can help more people seek treatment in time to prevent avoidable blindness. With your help, we can spread awareness and restore the sight of many more children.
Your gift today can help children like Chansouk
Without support from caring people like you, Chansouk may have faced a life filled with danger and disadvantage. But because of your generosity, she woke up in hospital with an eye patch and a mother anxiously waiting by her side.
When Dr Senglar carefully lifted the patch, everyone was relieved—the surgery was a success! Nam was overjoyed to watch her daughter put on a pair of plastic glasses and play with a toy stethoscope, pretending to be just like Dr Senglar.
“I want my child to have a good education. I want her to make us proud by being successful in her career,” Nam says.
Fred's Vision for Southeast Asia
Fred Hollows dedicated his life to ensuring no one should go blind unnecessarily. In countries like Laos, where access to healthcare is limited, Fred’s vision is more critical than ever. Thanks to your compassion, we can continue Fred’s legacy of restoring sight and transforming lives.
Fred had a deep connection to Southeast Asia. He spent time training surgeons in Vietnam and always hoped to expand his work to countries like Laos, where he could restore sight to children like Chansouk.
"Good honest work. I mean...how many people have the opportunity to be part of that? To watch that sort of good surgery being done on cataract-blind people warms your soul," said Fred.
Fred may be gone, but his work lives on.
Fred Hollows and Dr. Sanduk Ruit standing side by side with a cataract patient in Hanoi, where his work in Southeast Asia started. Fred visited Vietnam six months before his death to train Vietnamese eye surgeons in intra-ocular lens implant surgery.
Your support will help us achieve these goals in Laos this year:
- Screen more than 24,000 people
- Equip 12 eye care facilities
- Perform over 3,000 cataract surgeries
- Train 1,300 community eye health workers
