“Nothing but darkness, I used to see with my eyes. I could not do any work including my personal job like going to washroom, bathing, wearing clothes, etc. I could see a little bit during daytime but nothing at night. I had to wait for someone to help me. It is impossible to express how hard my days were! But today at this very moment, I can see everything; I can’t express my feelings. I would like to express my deep gratitude to Islamic Relief Bangladesh for my cataract operation; IRB has enabled me to see the light of the world again.”, said Mst. Hasen Banu (65 years) during the post-operative visit by the project staff.
Hasen Banu, with her paralyzed husband and an intellectually-disabled son, lives at Betgari Uttar (Nalurpara) village under Gangachara Upazilla of Rangpur district in Bangladesh. Her husband didn’t have much land to cultivate crops. Once the poor fellow had a stroke and got paralyzed; he lost mobility and even could not do own task without the help of others. His income also got stopped. Finding no alternatives, Hasen Banu started working as a domestic help. Though her earning was poor, she could have managed at least one/two meals for the family members. But that also suspended when she became visually-impaired. She could hardly see things during day and noting at night. Her working ability worsened gradually. Not only this impacted the lives and livelihoods of her family but also affected her regular movement. Under such conditions, she consulted a local quack doctor who suggested her to go to an eye hospital. But due to lack of money and other supports, she could not afford visiting the doctor to diagnose her problem. She was leading a terrible life. Her family was totally dependent on the support of the community people. On August 20, 2023, she was identified as a cataract patient at an eye camp organized by IRB. When she came to know that she had to undergo a surgical operation, she got frightened and decided not to go to the hospital as she was afraid of doing the operation on one hand and on the other, she thought of managing the costs for the operation. The project’s staff let her know that she would not need a single penny even for the travelling cost for the cataract surgical operation. She was assured of that Islamic Relief will bear all the costs related to the operation process. She then agreed and went to the hospital. She had the cataract surgical operation on August 21, 2023. After having the operation, her vision was measured as 6/9. It means her vision got improved. She was released from the hospital with the capacity of seeing everything during day and night. She started doing her household chores and her personal works by herself since her vision got improved.
During the postoperative visit, at her household she was found enjoying chatting with her family members and doing some household chores. She was found to be very happy as her vision has regained. Her future plan is to “ensure a secure life for her differently-abled son”. She disclosed such a desire when the staff asked her about managing the family.