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The IRC helps a little girl see


December 28, 2011
By Bayleyegn Birhanu

I walk with Tigist around the hospital as she experiments with her new-found sight following cataract surgery arranged by the IRC. The little girl shrieked in joyful surprise when she saw her own shadow for the first time.

Photo: Makeda Yasenlul/IRC
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia -

New-found sight

  • <p>I meet Tigist in her village in Benishangul-Gumuz, a remote region about 700 km west of Ethiopia&#39;s capital, Addis Ababa. &nbsp;Tigist&rsquo;s father, Bogale Getahun, a security guard, told me he and his wife knew something was wrong with their daughter when she was just seven months old. &ldquo;There was this strange spot in her eyes. We took her to see a doctor, and he told us she needed surgery in Addis Ababa. But we couldn&rsquo;t afford it.&quot;</p>
  • <p>Tigist tentatively follows her older brother through the village. Children who cannot see become especially dependent on other people. They are also more likely to become malnourished and sick, and to die at an early age.&nbsp;That&rsquo;s why the IRC has been traveling to impoverished communities around Ethiopia to find children with cataracts and help them.</p>
  • <p>Fortunately, when I examined Tigist, I found that her cataracts could still be operated on. I brought the little girl and her father to Addis Ababa for the procedure. &nbsp;</p>
  • <p>The day before the surgery, Tigist is examined to determine the kind of anesthesia the doctors will use. The nurse said that Tigist is underweight for a girl her age.</p>
  • <p>Tigist rests in her father&#39;s arms after the surgery. Soon she will be able to remove her bandages and start exploring her world with her own eyes.</p>
  • <p>I walk with Tigist around the hospital as she experiments with her new-found sight. The little girl shrieked in joyful surprise when she saw her own shadow for the first time.</p>
  • <p>Tigist plays with a little boy named Beshir, who also had successful eye surgery though the IRC in Addis Ababa.</p>
  • <p>Less than a week after her operation Tigist was back home and playing with her friends. Her parents were overwhelmed by their daughter&#39; s happiness and new-found independence. &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t wait for her to start school next year,&rdquo; Bogale said.</p>
Launch Slideshow

Half of the approximately 40,000 children in Ethiopia who are blind suffer from cataracts, a clouding of the lens in the eye. Although the treatment is relatively simple, poverty puts it out of the reach of most families. The IRC is helping children get the surgery they need. IRC blindness prevention coordinator Bayleyegn Birhanu shares the story of one of them, 10-year-old Tigist Bogale.

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New-found sight

  • <p>I meet Tigist in her village in Benishangul-Gumuz, a remote region about 700 km west of Ethiopia&#39;s capital, Addis Ababa. &nbsp;Tigist&rsquo;s father, Bogale Getahun, a security guard, told me he and his wife knew something was wrong with their daughter when she was just seven months old. &ldquo;There was this strange spot in her eyes. We took her to see a doctor, and he told us she needed surgery in Addis Ababa. But we couldn&rsquo;t afford it.&quot;</p>
  • <p>Tigist tentatively follows her older brother through the village. Children who cannot see become especially dependent on other people. They are also more likely to become malnourished and sick, and to die at an early age.&nbsp;That&rsquo;s why the IRC has been traveling to impoverished communities around Ethiopia to find children with cataracts and help them.</p>
  • <p>Fortunately, when I examined Tigist, I found that her cataracts could still be operated on. I brought the little girl and her father to Addis Ababa for the procedure. &nbsp;</p>
  • <p>The day before the surgery, Tigist is examined to determine the kind of anesthesia the doctors will use. The nurse said that Tigist is underweight for a girl her age.</p>
  • <p>Tigist rests in her father&#39;s arms after the surgery. Soon she will be able to remove her bandages and start exploring her world with her own eyes.</p>
  • <p>I walk with Tigist around the hospital as she experiments with her new-found sight. The little girl shrieked in joyful surprise when she saw her own shadow for the first time.</p>
  • <p>Tigist plays with a little boy named Beshir, who also had successful eye surgery though the IRC in Addis Ababa.</p>
  • <p>Less than a week after her operation Tigist was back home and playing with her friends. Her parents were overwhelmed by their daughter&#39; s happiness and new-found independence. &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t wait for her to start school next year,&rdquo; Bogale said.</p>
Launch Slideshow

Half of the approximately 40,000 children in Ethiopia who are blind suffer from cataracts, a clouding of the lens in the eye. Although the treatment is relatively simple, poverty puts it out of the reach of most families. The IRC is helping children get the surgery they need. IRC blindness prevention coordinator Bayleyegn Birhanu shares the story of one of them, 10-year-old Tigist Bogale.

All IRC Slideshows >
All Ethiopia Slideshows >
May 23, 2011 was no ordinary day for 10-year-old Tigist Bogale. It was the day her life changed forever — the day she had the operation that gave her sight for the first time. 

Like Tigist, half of the approximately 40,000 children in Ethiopia who are blind suffer from cataracts, a clouding of the lens in the eye. In many cases, their sight could have been saved had they received medical attention in time. Although the treatment for cataracts is relatively simple and inexpensive, poverty puts it out of the reach of most families here.
 
Children who cannot see become especially dependent on other people. They are also more likely to become malnourished and sick, and to die at an early age. That’s why the International Rescue Committee has been traveling to impoverished communities around Ethiopia to find children with cataracts and help them.
 
I met Tigist in her village in Benishangul-Gumuz, a remote region about 700 km (435 miles) west of the capital, Addis Ababa.  Tigist’s father, Bogale Getahun, is a security guard in a government office and her mother, Zemed Tsetegn, is a housewife. 

Bogale told me they knew something was wrong with their daughter when she was just seven months old.
 
“There was this strange spot in her eyes," he said. "We took her to see a doctor, and he told us she needed surgery in Addis Ababa. But we couldn’t afford it. She got worse in time and, eventually, completely blind in both eyes.” 

Tigist also has a hearing problem, which makes speech difficult for her. She would stay home every day while her siblings went to school, relying on her parents for everything — including eating and using the toilet.
 
Fortunately, when I examined Tigist, I found that her cataracts could still be operated on. I brought the little girl and her father to Addis Ababa for the procedure.

Just two days after recuperating from surgery Tigist was exploring the hospital with her growing vision, her reactions a mixture of shock and joy. As she got used to the light she started to laugh. When she saw her own shadow for the first time she shrieked in surprise. 

Three days later Tigist was able to go home, where she saw her mother’s face for the first time. Zemed couldn’t stop crying.  

Bogale, too, is overwhelmed by their daughter’s happiness and new-found independence.

“I can’t wait for her to start school next year,” he said. 
 
Bayleyegn Birhanu is the IRC’s blindness prevention coordinator based in Addis Ababa.
 

To Help

Your donation to the IRC today can make a tremendous difference in the life of someone in need. Please donate and your gift will be matched-dollar-for-dollar by special friends of the IRC until December 31, up to a total of $1.7. million. 
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