When Usha went blind from cataracts before her third child was born, her husband began drinking heavily and ran away with their children. Living in a poverty-stricken community in rural India, Usha was helpless.

That is until Christian Blind Mission (CBM) – a non-governmental organization aimed at breaking the cycle of poverty and disability in the world’s poorer countries – visited her, drove her to the nearest hospital three hours away, paid for her surgery and helped rebuild her life.

She’s not the only one CMB’s helped. And she won’t be the last.

CBM Canada hopes to help at least 99,999 more people like Usha during their 100 Days, 100,000 Miracles of Sight campaign that started Oct. 1. The campaign collects donations to fund cataract surgeries in developing countries.

This is the third year CBM Canada has run the campaign. Each year they have reached their goal.

A cataract is a clouding and hardening of the lens in the eye. Surgery removes the lens and replaces it with a prosthetic.

Blindness due to cataracts is “preventable and the surgeries are viable,” said CBM executive director and University of Winnipeg graduate Edwin Epp.

“14.4 million people don’t need to be blind,” he said.

CBM community workers go door to door in countries throughout Asia, Africa and Latin America to find people who cannot afford optometric treatment and proper eye care.

So far CBM has provided approximately 5,000 surgeries with a little more than a month-and-a-half left in the campaign.

Susan Dewalt, associate director of services and operations for the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, said cataracts are the leading cause of blindness in developing countries due to the “inability to afford cataract surgery and the unavailability of ophthalmologists.”

According to Epp, it only costs $33 for one cataract surgery, and it can impact a whole family – like Usha’s.

“You should see someone who was born with cataracts after the surgery who can see flowers for the first time. It’s amazing to see,” he said.

Usha was reunited with her family after her surgery. She then bought a sewing machine and is now training to become a tailor thanks to CBM’s job training and microfinance programs. She can also afford to send all of her children to school because of the small business she started.

“Vision is critical for independence,” said Dewalt.

Published in Volume 64, Number 10 of The Uniter (November 5, 2009)