Help her see. Help her succeed: Minu’s story

Stories | June 15, 2021

Minu had never been outside the confines of her small village in one of the poorest parts of India. She’d never been to school, and she didn’t have many friends.

“She cannot do much due to her impaired vision,” explained her mother, Sunita. “She mostly sits alone or helps with simple chores around the house… She has no friends as she never went to a school.”

Time was running out for the girl who would soon turn 10. The white spots from the cataracts in her eyes were growing, and, for a girl without sight in a developing country, the future didn’t look bright.

Sunita told us, “People tend to exclude and bully a person with visual impairment. Like in the case of Minu, children in the neighbourhood often call her names like ‘blind’ and ‘scary eyes’, and do not allow her to play with them. Sometimes they even beat her and run away.”

She paused, then added with a heavy heart, “I wish my daughter received treatment for her vision impairment. I wish her sight is restored and she can attend school with the other children.”

Minu needed an operation to remove the white spots – cataracts – and a pair of glasses to help her eyes see clearly.

“What can we do? We cannot afford to travel and spend so much on one child. There are four other children in the house,” lamented father Arun in despair.

So Minu sat quietly in the yard by herself. Waiting for someone like you.

Help her see. Help her succeed.

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