100+ Cataract Surgeries with the Sri Lankan Association in Geneva

The Foundation of Goodness, in association with Help Age, has been pleased to successfully complete 107 cataract surgeries for rural villagers to date, on behalf of the Sri Lanka Association in Geneva (Switzerland) as facilitated by Mr. Chinta Rajap.

Cataracts are the most significant cause of blindness around the world, and 70% of blind people in Sri Lanka note cataracts as their reason for blindness (WHO). As a vision impairment caused by the natural lens of the human eye losing its transparency, the only treatment for this condition is through surgically implanting an artificial lens.

Cataract surgery has been shown to be one of the most cost-effective health-care interventions. Even so, most of the rural low income households of Sri Lanka cannot afford this surgery. Unfortunately the Government Health Service in Sri Lanka does not provide the lens required for cataract operation and the eye drops that are required following cataract surgery are also not available for free. Therefore those cataract patients who can’t afford to buy the lens and eye drops continue to suffer from curable blindness.

The cataract project which  was initiated by the Sri Lanka Association in Geneva in 2015 and carried out in three batches has made a real and lasting impact in the lives of these rural villagers, many of whom are feeble and elderly, to achieve a better quality of life, restoring to them something as vital as their sight.

We are incredibly appreciative of this sustained initiative by SLAG whose sponsorship has helped lift rural Sri Lankans to escape darkness and regain their sight.

05th April 2018