A Special Report from CEO Brian Doolan

A keen student, Kamala had to give up her studies and hopes for a better future.

Saddest of all, after her son Mochnath was born, she couldn't see him clearly. And she couldn't take care of him on her own.

I've been to the mountainous Nuwakot area in Nepal where Kamala lives. Most people there are farmers - it's a difficult existence.

Kamala and her husband were living with his parents.

Like most people in Nepal, Kamala's in-laws lived on about $2 - 4 a day, supporting themselves, Kamala, her husband and young son.

After losing her sight, the strain began to show. Kamala could no longer contribute to the household and, sadly, her husband began to resent her for it.

Then one day Kamala was told to leave. She not only lost her independence, she lost her dignity.

With her sight restored, a young mother like Kamala can resume her studies and regain her independence. She would be able to work, care for her child and see her son grow up.

A donation of $25, $50, $250 or $500 could give this priceless gift to one, two, or many more people like Kamala.

Luckily for Kamala, Nuwakot has a Community Eye Centre supported by donations made by people like you to The Fred Hollows Foundation.

One day, Kamala heard on the radio about a special screening camp that would take hundreds of people from her district to the Tilganga Eye Centre in Kathmandu for free operations.

She was afraid, but her father, who was now caring for Kamala, encouraged her to go.

"How can you give your baby a good life if you are blind - you must have the operation," he told her.

The Tilganga Eye Centre opened in 1994, the year after Fred Hollows died.

In those days it screened around 40,000 patients through its outreach projects and performed about 2,500 surgeries a year.

Now it's screening some 150,000 people and performing more than 10,000 surgeries a year.

It's doing an incredible job, although it's bursting at the seams.

Tilganga was the dream of Dr Sanduk Ruit, Fred and Gabi Hollows, and their friends.  

Fred and Ruit had an extraordinary relationship. Ruit trained with Fred and lived in Fred's home while he was in Australia. Ruit was there at the table when The Fred Hollows Foundation was born.  

Today, Dr Ruit is the Director of the Tilganga Eye Centre and remains its driving force.

I know Dr Ruit well. He visited Australia again early this year and we talked for hours about plans to grow Tilganga and help more people like Kamala. We also discussed how we could better reach remote areas as well as ways to transfer the model to other countries we are now working in, like North Korea and Tibet.

Dr Ruit is probably the most experienced eye surgeon in the world. He's personally conducted more than 70,000 operations on people just like Kamala.

This year he was appointed an Honorary Officer of the Order of Australia (AO).

Fred used to say, "If I have done nothing else in my life but encourage Ruit, I'll die a happy man."

Right now, Dr Ruit needs to raise $3 million to build a new hospital wing for Tilganga.

The new extension will include an outpatients unit, modern operating theatres as well as training facilities for doctors and nurses.

This kind of development will help restore the sight of thousands like Kamala, not only by allowing Dr Ruit and his team to do more operations but also by helping him to train more doctors throughout the developing world.

The Fred Hollows Foundation supports this sight-restoring work in Nepal and in other countries like Eritrea, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Kenya and Rwanda.

And the generous gifts of our supporters mean we can help even more people like Kamala.

I'm happy to tell you that Kamala's operation was a complete success. Her face shone with joy when she realised her sight was fully restored.

Kamala's father was filled with gratitude,

"I feel so glad my daughter can see. Without your support I could never afford the operation. We give many thanks."

I give many thanks too - to our supporters. It is their gifts that make these achievements possible.

- Brian Doolan, CEO, The Fred Hollows Foundation.   A donation to The Fred Hollows Foundation not only restores sight - it restores independence and dignity to people like Kamala.

Achievements: Nepal

Since the Tilganga Eye Centre was opened in 1994, the following outcomes have been achieved:

• Nearly 1.5 million people have been screened and more than 74,000 operations performed.
• Tilganga supports nine Community Eye Centres (CECs) across Nepal.
• The Fred Hollows Foundation Intraocular Lens (IOL) Laboratory has produced more than 1.8 million IOLs. It is now producing 17,000 lenses per month, which are sold to over 40 countries.
• Tilganga has trained 139 surgeons as well as 73 paramedical staff.
• In 1996, it pioneered a new sutureless surgical technique that reduces the likelihood of post-operative complications.
• In 2001, Tilganga developed a further refinement to its sutureless technique. Called ‘temporal' section, it helps with improved recovery of vision.

Health Facts: Nepal

Population: 26.6 million, of whom around 69% live on less than $2 a day and 17% are undernourished.

Life expectancy: 62.1 years

Number of blind people: 185,000

Main causes of blindness: Cataract (72%), glaucoma, corneal scarring, trachoma, uncorrected refractive error, and childhood blindness

> View the Nepal Program