If you were faced with the choice of a brighter future for your child, or the ability to see, what would you choose?
Earlier this year, Zaitoon Bibi was faced with an impossible choice: the chance to give her child a brighter future through education; or the ability to see him. She sacrificed her eyesight for his schooling. Zaitoon Bibi lost her husband to cancer in 2011. Since then, she and her son have been getting by on his pension of 7000 Rupees –that’s just £43, a month. The meagre income barely sufficed to maintain their basic needs, forcing mother and son to go hungry some days. When Zaitoon Bibi started to lose her eye-sight, she went to a local hospital. Diagnosed with glaucoma, she was told to pay 20,000 Rupees for the eye surgery she would need to prevent her from going blind completely. Zaitoon Bibi did not have access to this kind of money. In order to get it, she would have to sacrifice her son’s education. For her the choice was simple: she wanted her son, a year eight student, to continue his studies. But she was troubled by the fact that she would eventually become a burden to him. Some months later Zaitoon Bibi heard of Al-Mustafa Welfare Trust’s (AMWT) free eye-care camp in nearby Piplan. At the time, she was among 36 women who visited us, seeking eye-care they could not afford. Zaitoon Bibi underwent surgery, free of charge, and was even provided with post-surgery check-ups and medication. Today Zaitoon Bibi is grateful that she’ll be able to see her son and the bright future which awaits him. “I feel like a complete, responsible mother now.” She says. “May Allah (swt) bless the donors and all team members of AMWT. They have changed my life and now with my eyesight I’m independently doing my daily work. Especially I can read the Holy Qur'an. From the bottom of my heart I can say Jazakhallah everyone...
