High-Volume Cataract Campaign | Negelle, Ethiopia
The Story of Wodessa & Chaltu: A Brother and Sister Living Under the Dark Cloud of Cataract Blindness
15-year-old Wodessa came with his father, his sister and his uncle to the Himalayan Cataract Project's high-volume cataract campaign in Negelle, Ethiopia on August 13. Cataracts began to cloud both his eyes as a toddler, rendering him blind by the age of four.
Here, he is being examined before he undergoes surgery. Doctors expressed their confidence that he would see again.
Wodessa and his 14-year-old sister Chaltu await their opportunity to receive life-changing cataract surgery. Chaltu is also bilaterally blind.
After a successful surgery, Chaltu touches her brother's nose. The siblings have spent the majority of their lives living in darkness, until today.
Wodessa, who couldn't remember a world with sight, reaches for his father's face. His clouds have been lifted and the world has become clear again.
Dugo Bati, father of Chaltu and Wodessa, raises his hands in celebratory prayer after witnessing his two children regain their sight. (Photos: Stefano Levi)
