The story of Grace and Nicholas

GRACE’S SON IS BLIND. SHE KNOWS HIS LIFE WILL BE HARD BECAUSE SHE IS BLIND TOO.

PLEASE DONATE TO HELP THIS WORLD SIGHT DAY.

Grace often cried for her family.

She was hit in the eye by a rock many years ago, and the trauma caused a blinding cataract in that eye. It left her struggling to provide for her three children.

But the hardest part of her life was knowing that her 7-year-old son Nicholas was blind too.

Grace couldn’t see well enough to protect Nicholas and was anxious for his future. His body is scarred from accidents and falls. He even disappeared one day, and Grace suspected the worst.

Luckily, Nicholas was found by a teacher and brought home unharmed. He had followed other children to school because he wanted to be just like them. But the teacher told Grace that he couldn’t learn – he was blind.

There are no local eye health services and the eye hospital that treats children is far away. Trapped by poverty and distance, Grace used to pray every night for a miracle to save Nicholas.

No matter how hard she worked, Grace couldn’t afford the surgery Nicholas needed to stop him being blind forever. Then someone like you answered her prayers.

Your gifts help us train eye health ambassadors who visit remote areas in Kenya, like the village where Grace lives.

One of these ambassadors told Grace that supporters of The Foundation would pay for Nicholas’ eye surgery. And that they would help her too.

Nearly everyone on the planet will experience an eye health issue in their lifetime and more than a billion people worldwide do not have access to eye care services. Please donate today so we can reach more struggling parents like Grace and children like Nicholas, before it’s too late.

The Fred Hollows Foundation is fortunate to have the support of Consolidated Marketing Group (CMG) to match funds raised up to the value of HKD500,000 from now until midnight October 31. Donate now to restore sight to even more people. 

GRACE COULDN’T HELP HER SON AND CRIED HERSELF TO SLEEP EVERY NIGHT.

Grace was trapped by poverty but she worked hard to look after her three children. Being blind didn’t stop her from taking on any manual labour that came her way. But when her 7-year-old son, Nicholas, started losing his sight, Grace was shattered. “When the teacher told me that, I cried and asked God ‘How can I help my child?’.”

Heartbroken, Grace had lost all hope for her son’s future – until someone like you changed everything.

THE PEOPLE OF KENYA NEED YOU MORE THAN EVER

For many people in remote parts of Kenya, access to basic eye care is out of reach, and COVID-19 has made things worse. Vulnerable Kenyans are waiting for essential workers to save their eyesight. They are desperate for people like you to help them.

	COVID-19 HAS INTERRUPTED EYE CARE DELIVERY With eyecare workers in some areas being called urgently into the frontline to help keep the pandemic under control, there’s been a shortage of people to deliver eye care services. This has created a growing backlog all around Kenya, and put people at risk of permanent blindness.
	ALMOST 75% OF KENYA DOESN’T HAVE ACCESS TO EYE CARE The majority of Kenyans live in remote or rural areas and can’t afford to travel outside their village. With half of Kenya’s ophthalmologists found in just one city, Nairobi, there are so many people who aren’t getting even the most basic eye care
	MORE THAN 328,000 KENYANS NEED CATARACT SURGERY The most common cause of blindness in Kenya is cataract. But 88% of these people don’t have to be blind. If they are able to access proper medical treatment on time, their eyesight can be saved, usually with a simple surgery.

YOU CAN TURN LIFE AROUND FOR SOMEONE LIKE GRACE OR NICHOLAS

You are an essential worker when it comes to restoring sight. If it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t have reached Grace and Nicholas in time to save their sight.

Your generous gift helped train health care workers who visited the remote village where Grace and Nicholas live, and diagnosed Nicholas’ cataract as treatable.

When Grace found out that The Foundation’s generous supporters would not only cover the cost of Nicholas’ surgery but hers as well, she was overjoyed.

They travelled for hours to get to the eye hospital. Grace was anxious, but quietly hopeful, hugging Nicholas close and thanking the people who were making her dream come true.

Both of them had their operation on the same day. The next morning, Grace’s patch was removed first, and she patiently waited for Nicholas’ eyepatch to come off.

Grace’s face lit up as Nicholas looked at her and they saw each other clearly for the first time. And it was all made possible because of incredible people like you.