Restoring Hope Beyond Sight

Restoring Hope Beyond Sight

John was a barber for 27 years, a job he was truly passionate about until last year, when his life changed after a tragic accident that left him with a poor vision in his right eye. The damage soon affected his left eye, making it hard for him to see clearly while trimming his clients’ hair.During our vision assessment, he could only detect hand movements with his right eye and he reported to us that the Opthalmologists from Mulago Hospital told him that his optic nerved had damaged hence coud not restore his vision.John fell into depression and turned to alcohol in an attempt to forget the pain. “A man who once earned proudly from my work is now struggling to find even something to eat,” he cried. He also resorted to selling selling alcohol to survive, though he constantly wished that he could go back to trimming the hair of his customers. When he met us, he said, “You are my hope to see again and return to my work.”While there was nothing we could do to restore his optic nerve, we could still restore his hope. Through counseling and by fitting him with an eye patch to help balance his vision, John found renewed confidence. He started practicing again using the eye patch as he gradually reintegrates into his barber business.His words, “Kati buli kimu kilaba bulungi — I can see everything clearly now,” warmed our hearts. 💙The power of “Bringing eye care services closer to the informal sectorworkers” with support from Seva Foundation involves restoring not only sight but dignity, purpose, and hope.Thank you Seva Foundation for making this possible.