It Was Like Getting My Life Back: Yunus’s Journey from Blur to Sight
Yunus Sarkar has spent most of his life farming in Banihara, Gaibandha district of Bangladesh. At 76, cataracts slowly began to change that life. The fields he knew so well no longer felt safe.
He stumbled while walking. Tools and crops blended into shadows. Inside his own home, he sometimes struggled to clearly see the faces of his wife, his two sons, and his two daughters.
One day, he heard an announcement over the village loudspeaker about a free eye screening camp organized by Marium Eye Hospital Rangpur, a partner of Quasem Foundation. The announcement mentioned free cataract surgery for eligible patients. At the camp, doctors confirmed that Yunus had cataracts. The word “surgery” frightened him, but a counselor spoke with him patiently and explained that the surgery would be completely free with support from Cure Blindness Project.
At Marium Eye Hospital Rangpur, the surgery was quick and painless. When the eye patch was removed the next day, he opened his eye carefully. Everything in front of him came into focus.
“I cannot explain that feeling. It was like getting my life back.”
Back home, Yunus walked through his fields again without fear. He could recognize people from a distance and move with confidence. Now, he speaks openly in his community, telling others not to wait if their vision starts to fade.
