Current Appeal – Cataracts – Zimbabwe

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This tiny triplet needed miracle after miracle. First to survive, then to see.

Please send your gift today to help give the Miracle of Sight to adults and children, like Nadiah, in the world’s poorest places.

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” – Matthew 19:14

In Zimbabwe, Nadiah’s birth was a whirlwind of medical urgency. Three tiny, fragile lives entered the world too early, their cries faint whispers against the hum of the ward.

In a healthcare system strained by economic challenges, resources like modern incubators are a scarce luxury. The triplets were instead placed on warmed beds, swaddled tightly, their bodies not yet ready for the world outside the womb. The fight for survival had begun the moment they drew their first, laboured breaths.

They were named: Nadiah, Nigel, and a third sibling whose name would forever be whispered with a heartache too deep for words.

Nadiah’s parents, Michelle and Andrew, were heartbroken over the death of their baby boy, and so very worried about Nadiah. Their baby girl was tiny, weak, quiet, and still.

Unlike her surviving brother, there were no smiles and no happy gurgles when their eyes met. Strangely, Nadiah’s eyes never seemed to focus. Nadiah was falling far behind the development of her brother Nigel – and then in one horrifying moment her mother saw why.

Michelle looked intently into her daughter’s eyes, but instead of beautiful dark pools, she glimpsed the milky shadow of what looked like clouds, blocking the light from reaching deep into Nadiah’s pupils.

If she could not see into Nadiah’s eyes, could Nadiah not see out? Was her daughter blind?

Living in the deepest poverty, parents like Michelle and Andrew know that caring for a child with a disability can mean losing precious time to earn an income. As it was, they could barely afford their daily scoop of mealie porridge.

Please will you prayerfully consider sending a gift today so more adults and children with avoidable blindness can receive the cataract surgery they urgently need.

Living in Zimbabwe’s sugarcane heartland, life is far from sweet. Nadiah’s father is a dedicated provider, but there are few jobs for people who cannot afford an advanced education.

Seeking help for their precious daughter, Michelle and Andrew visited the local health clinic, hoping that medicine might clear Nadiah’s cloudy eyes. The news was devastating. Nadiah had blinding cataracts, and she could only see the difference between night and day, little else. And the only treatment – surgery – would cost more than a year’s wages!

Without surgery, Nadiah would never be able to read, see a smile, make a living or start a family. All because of two tiny clouded lenses in her eyes.

It breaks our heart to see poverty strip parents of the ability to help their child. Your generosity can change that story – forever. Please, if you can, share the Miracle of Sight with adults and children who cannot see, by sending your gift today.

The family came home bereft, yet still praying – and then incredible things started to happen. Miracle after miracle!

Neighbours heard a rumour and passed it on: free surgery in the city, thanks to generous supporters like you. Yes, even for toddlers like Nadiah.

For young children, cataract surgery is more complex, and must be performed under general anaesthetic. It is expensive and it is urgently needed.

Every day a child goes without sight, their brain loses the capacity to ever see perfectly.

Nadiah was in a race against time.

The additional hospital care a child needs meant Andrew and Michelle had to stay in the city, near the hospital, for weeks. Impossible! Then… another miracle! A relative in the city found employment for Andrew, for exactly the time Nadiah would be in hospital.

The impossible happened – Nadiah’s family were able to travel to the city for her sight-saving cataract surgery.

What makes this even more remarkable is that in cataract surgery for very young children, the cataracts are removed, but no new lenses are inserted at this stage. This reflects the remarkable way God has designed the eye and the way light itself works.

Because their eyes are still growing, if new lenses are inserted, their eyes will quickly outgrow them. Instead, powerful corrective eyeglasses will focus the light for them.

That is just what happened for little Nadiah. Under deep sedation, the cataracts were skilfully removed and protective pads were placed on her eyes overnight.

In the morning, when the pads were removed, light flooded into Nadiah’s eyes for the very first time.

That light will be focused by her perfectly-prescribed corrective glasses. Wearing those, she will see her parents’ faces for the first time. She will reach out and touch. She will learn and grow.

Then, when the time is right, she will return to hospital to have new permanent lenses placed perfectly in her eyes. Thanks to generous gifts like yours, Nadiah will receive the great miracle of a lifetime of sight.

Please share that Miracle of Sight today, by sending your gift for adults and children, like Nadiah, in the world’s poorest places.

Your gift will help fund the cost of cataract surgery for adults so they can return to productive lives, and the extra costs of cataract surgery for children, including general anaesthetic, so they can hope for a better future. It will also help fund other essential eye health services, including prescription glasses for children and adults whose sight has been damaged due to cataracts.

After the sadness and loss of one of their beloved triplets, can you imagine how wonderful it was for Michelle and Andrew to feel the restorative and loving hand of God upon their family?

Thank you for being part of this beautiful chain of miracles. Please, if you can, send your gift today so more families like Nadiah’s can share in the Miracle of Sight.

It was shock upon shock for this precious family: first the death of a tiny triplet, then the despair that Nadiah would be blinded for life, because in the world’s poorest places the barriers to cataract surgery are far too high for families. You can help overcome these barriers.

Today, please help share the Miracle of Sight so young children like Nadiah can receive the sight they need, for life. Thank you so much.