Navraj’s story

Stories | August 10, 2022

“The doctor cleaned my eye. Now everything looks neat and clean.”

– Navraj

Growing up without family support, 13-year-old Navraj is an orphan with Down Syndrome. So you can imagine the heartbreak when, after facing so many obstacles in life already, the young boy found his eyesight failing as well.

It was his teacher who first noticed Navraj bringing objects closer to his eyes and struggling to complete simple tasks in class.

“Nowadays, he complains of not being able to see clearly during bright afternoons,” his teacher said. “So we often have to hold his hand and help him walk from the school to the dormitory.”

But what happened next was truly remarkable as the Indian boy suddenly found himself on the receiving end of a Meaningful Gift.

An outreach team from a CBM partner identified Navraj, assessed he had bilateral cataracts and immediately booked him in for surgery.

Only two days later, he was lying on a bed in a hospital paediatric ward – his right eye covered with a green patch after his first cataract surgery.

“The surgery was successful. Now the task is to keep his eye clean and protect it from infection,” his surgeon said.

Fitted with a new pair of glasses and discharged from hospital soon afterwards, Navraj can’t stop smiling.

“The doctor cleaned my eye. Now everything looks neat and clean,”

Navraj says happily.

Where once Navraj was quiet and anxious about his future, he is now back at school and joining in all the activities.

Navraj’s sight was saved and his future looks brighter because someone just like you gave a loved one Meaningful Gifts.

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