Because of you… Gelenge’s gift of sight
In the Highlands of PNG, Gelenge lives in a remote village in a house built from bush materials and kunai grass. He shares his home with his wife and their family.
In 2021, Gelenge noticed a smoky haze clouding his right eye. Over time, it worsened, and by 2022, he had completely lost vision in that eye. The following year, the same thing began happening to his left eye. The haze gradually increased until, by 2024, he was completely blind.
Blindness brought his daily life to a standstill. He could no longer clear the land, dig drains, plow the soil, or plant crops. Even chopping firewood – a task traditionally done by men – became impossible. This burden fell on his wife, who had to take on extra work to keep the household running. Gelenge felt helpless, unable to fulfill his responsibilities as a husband and father.
With his independence gone, he was forced to stay indoors while his wife worked tirelessly to support the family. He couldn’t cook for himself, and when his wife left for the garden, she had to prepare his meals in advance. As he listened in silence, he felt his family slowly deteriorating. The pain of knowing his wife was struggling to provide for him and their children weighed heavily on him.
Ashamed of his condition, Gelenge refused to seek help from traditional medicine or the hospital. Instead, he prayed, asking God for a miracle.
His turning point came when a cbm-funded Community-Based Rehabilitation Officer in his village encouraged him to seek treatment. With their help, Gelenge made the journey to Mingende to the outreach clinic run by visiting cbm eye surgeons.
Thanks to people like you, Gelenge received sight-saving cataract surgery.
The next day when the bandage came off, he was so grateful to people like you for giving him back his sight.
He said, “I am very happy, all my anxiety has finally come to an end. I am excited to be able to assist my wife with the responsibilities. Thank you to everyone for bringing the most needed service right down to the rural district to assist us.”