Mitchel's Story

In the rural community of Siaya County, Kenya, Mitchel, a bright secondary school student, sits beside her grandmother, reflecting on the challenges she faced when cataract almost took away her dreams of becoming a doctor. 

“I was nine years old. I had just started primary school, and one evening, my eyes started feeling itchy and irritated,” Mitchel recalls.

What began as a minor discomfort quickly turned into a daily struggle. “I could not read properly most of the time as my eyes would constantly water,” she explains. Holding objects close to her face became her only way of seeing clearly, and it soon became her “new normal.” 

Mitchel’s parents desperately searched for answers, but despite numerous treatments and eye drops, her condition did not improve. As she entered secondary school, things became even harder. Mitchel found herself missing weeks of school at a time. 

“Sometimes I would have to stay home for up to two weeks because my eyes would swell, and I couldn’t see at all,” Mitchel says. “At school, writing became a challenge – I had to rely on my friends, and my grades started to drop.” 

For over eight years, Mitchel lived with this condition. Multiple attempts to treat her vision had failed, until she was finally diagnosed with cataract. It was only then, with support from The Fred Hollows Foundation and the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP), that Mitchel was scheduled for cataract surgery. The operation was her turning point. 

The surgery didn’t just restore Mitchel’s sight – it gave her back her future. 

With her vision restored, Mitchel now has the confidence to continue her education and achieve her dream of becoming a doctor. No longer dependent on her friends to get through her schoolwork, she is excelling in her studies and looks forward to helping others in need. 

“I want to be a doctor so I can change the lives of other people, just like mine was changed,” she says.