Australia: More than anything else, respected artist Langaliki Langeliki wanted to see again so that she could paint again. And, she wanted to be able to visit her loved ones.

Langaliki lives in the community of Pukatja, also known as Ernabella, 435 km south east of Alice Springs.

She paints in the colourful and dramatic style for which the Ernabella region is famous.

There are Indigenous people in remote communities like this who just accept going blind.

For them, it’s just the way life is. Treatment means going to hospital and, for many Indigenous people in remote Australia, hospitals are places to be avoided – hospitals are where you go to die.

But Langaliki was desperate and willing to give it a go so, in 2006, despite her fear, she had one eye successfully operated on for cataract.

Then the sight in her other eye began to fade.

Luckily for her, The Fred Hollows Foundation and its partners were targeting the large backlog of eye operations in remote central Australia with weeklong intensive surgical sessions.

It’s a daunting task.
There are 55,000 people in an area twice the size of NSW, covering 1.6 million square kilometres, making it geographically one of the largest integrated eye health programs in the world.

The challenge is to locate the hundreds of people who need surgery, help them to get over their fear of hospital and their nervousness about leaving their country and going to town.

When we do find them they are often extremely anxious about being treated. They usually politely agree to come. But for one reason or another they don’t always get on the bus.

When Langaliki arrived in Alice Springs for the operation, she was nervous with anticipation. Her eyes were examined and the operation to remove her cataract and insert an intraocular lens began.

“It’s like putting glasses inside your eye,” the surgeon, Tim Henderson explained to her as he operated.

Twenty-four hours later and it was time to see if all was well.

“Shall we take it off?” the doctor asked her, reaching for the dressing taped over her left eye.

She made to speak, but only managed a low “mm”. As the doctor lifted off the dressing, that “mm” became a heartfelt “aaahhh...” and a smile spread clear across her face.
 The operation was a success!

Langaliki’s joy filled the room.

It was so infectious we found ourselves laughing.

Langaliki can now get around on her own again, and has the confidence to leave her aged care home to spend time with her family.
 And best of all, she can get back to her painting.

Our supporters helped give Langaliki independence and freedom.

Fred always said that “we discover our own humanity by helping others who have been less fortunate than us through the lottery of birth”.

A little help can make a big difference in remote Indigenous communities.