Earlier this year, Ms Tahrina Chowdhury from the UK, made a one off donation to Al-Mustafa Welfare Trust’s (AMWT) eye-care campaign. The small sum of £35 was less than what she’d spend on lunch in a week. But for Aleya Begum, in Dhaka Bangladesh, it meant the difference between blindness and the ability to see.
65 year-old Aleya Begum is a widow living in dire poverty. After raising two sons who married and moved away, she and her husband were left to fend for themselves. Aleya Begum’s husband was working 12 hours a day at a factory, when he passed away. He was only 67 years old, but a life-time of hard labour, poor resources and next to no medical assistance, took its toll on him.
Alone and in need, Aleya Begum was forced to take on work to support herself. But her poor eye-sight and then a spinal injury meant she couldn’t continue for long. Aleya Begum became homebound. Still she received no support from her sons, and was surviving on the food that neighbours could spare. The hardest thing to bear, was her gradual inability to carry out basic daily routines or maintain her personal hygiene.
It was eventually by the mercy of Allah (swt), that a kind neighbour took Aleya Begum to a local ward eye hospital in Adabor, near Dhaka. There AMWT was offering free eye-care, screenings and surgery through sponsorship for people in her situation. Diagnosed with cataract, Aleya Begum needed surgery. It just so happened that a Ms Tahrina Chowdhury had made a donation of £35 to sponsor such a surgery some weeks before.
With her eyesight restored, Aleya Begum is now independent again. She can care herself and even leave the house on days when her back isn’t so bad. ‘I have no words to say thank you for this great kindness,’ she said when we told her the name of the donor who sponsored her surgery. She will be praying for Tahrina Chowdhury till the end of her days.
In our efforts to alleviate preventable or semi-blindness among the poor, we have restored eye-sight to over 30k people across the world. Cataract surgery only takes a short time but it can make a huge difference to so many lives. Help support our Global Vision Aid 100K Campaign. Make a one off donation today.
