“Amma, amma”, cried 3 year old Monis. Saima his mother ran outside to find Monis holding his hand tightly over his eye and a drop of blood trickling down his cheek. One minute he was playing and the next he felt excruciating pain in his left eye, he explained through sobs. 

Saima raised the alarm and a neighbour took them to the nearest hospital.

The doctor examined Monis and assured Saima that the shard of glass was not lodged in his eye. He prescribed eye drops and sent them home. It soon became apparent that Monis's sight was impaired and he was withdrawn from preschool. On a modest salary, his father Mohsin struggled to make ends meet and could not get a loan to take his son to see a specialist. 

Kind and generous relatives rallied round and contributed whatever they could for Monis to see an ophthalomologist. He was diagnosed with cataract in his left eye and high refractive error in his right one. The ophthalmologist recommended urgent surgery as early intervention is critical for the developing eye in childhood.  Mohsin confided that they could not afford any such treatment and he was unable to hold back his tears. 

The doctor recommended Layton Rahmatullah Benevolent Trust, our sister charity where Monis was given high quality treatment in our specialist paediatric unit in Karachi, completely free of charge. After routine health checks to ensure he was fit for surgery, Monis received cataract surgery the same day. 

As the bandages were removed, it was immediately clear that the surgery had been successful. At his follow-up appointment, Mohsin thanked LRBT staff and said, “Seeing Monis playing with his brother and sister just like before fills my heart with unspeakable joy, my child came so close to being condemned to a life of darkness and misery, his future stolen from him. I cannot thank LRBT and its donors enough for enabling my son to see once again.”