TV presenter Gyles Brandreth is asking the general public to support the work of CBM, a Christian charity transforming the lives of individuals living with blindness and other disabilities.
A practising Christian, Brandreth, who’s a daily on the BBC’s The One Show, has ‘passionately’ supported CBM’s work for over 20 years together with his wife.
“We consider that nobody should face a lifetime of blindness simply because their family is poor,” he said.
He continued: “People live needlessly blind with cataracts, when easy surgery could restore their sight – if only their families could afford it. Supporting CBM signifies that more people can have their sight restored and live a life filled with opportunity.”
The organisation restores sight to people living within the poorest places on the planet by tackling eye diseases, training doctors and health care staff and carrying out eye surgeries.
Supporters of the charity have donated £1.2 million to the Light Up Lives campaign, which is running across three years to alter the lives of blind people within the Midlands province of Zimbabwe, a nation with one among the very best rates of blindness on the planet.
Patricia, 15, from Midlands had pain in her eye for half a yr in consequence of a cataract. She had doubts that her eye would heal until the charity intervened.
“The project really helped me because I used to be slowly turning blind. Everything is now back to normal. The pains are all gone now. I’m back in school. School is great. I’m having fun with it,” she said.
Brian, 21, also suffered from a cataract that grew in his eye in consequence of an injury. After successful treatment, he believes that “God still has more” for him and “nothing is inconceivable”. “I just hope that perhaps I can start work and get employed in some higher places,” he said.
His experience with a cataract has even deepened his faith.
He continued: “I’m within the Bible a lot. I just like the story of Moses when he took the Israelites out of Egypt. That was really my story concerning my cataract – I still believed that sooner or later God would go away me into freedom.”
Zimbabwe has a shortage of trained eye medical examiners so CBM is using funds to supply training. Over one thousand eye medical examiners have been trained and at the moment are working to discover adults with eye health problems, and refer them for treatment.
Funds are also being invested to enhance hospital infrastructures across district hospitals within the Midlands Province. Thousands of cataract surgeries have been delivered in hospitals in addition to outreach camps that reduce the distances patients living in rural areas must travel, helping them access treatment before they lose their sight.
By the tip of the project CBM goals to have helped greater than 44,000 individuals with eye health problems.
