There are millions of blind people around the world who are unable to see the gorgeous world before them – but this organization is restoring their sight with a simple, minutes-long surgery.
The Himalayan Cataract Project is a nonprofit that has been performing free cataract surgeries across Asia and Africa since the 1990’s. The two ophthalmologists who started the project say that they were inspired to pursue the initiative after they saw firsthand how debilitating blindness can be – and how easy it is to cure.
Cataracts are tiny plastic lenses that focus the light into a patient’s eye so they can see properly. Roughly half of the people who suffer from blindness around the world could have their sight restored with a simple cataract surgery – however, there are fewer eye doctors in countries like Ethiopia and Nepal.
Additionally, when the two ophthalmologists first visited Nepal three decades ago, the cheapest cataract lens that was available cost over $250; but once the team started manufacturing the lenses locally, they brought the price tag down to under $25 per…
