Today, his son is back at school and Obaidul now has his own small business, thanks to ANCP-funded cataract surgery which restored his sight.

Obaidul, from Coxs Bazar in Bangladesh, struggled with blurry vision for about two years before he went blind. He lost his job processing betel leaves because he couldn’t see well enough to separate the leaves from the bunches.

“They found out my work was not good enough – they were not satisfied. Gradually they stopped calling me.”

“I was totally upset. I have three kids and a wife. My only thought was how can I manage my family?,” he said.

Obaidul’s daily wage from processing betel leaves was already stretched to provide for his wife and three children.   He felt he had no other choice but to take his oldest son out of school and into a labouring job. His son worked from 8am to 5pm, while Obaidul was confined to his tin house.

“It was a really bad experience for me. When I could see clearly, my son only went to school and played.”

Obaidul’s fortunes changed when his brother heard about a free eye health service through a loudspeaker advertisement.  At an eye camp organised close to his home, Obaidul was screened, diagnosed with cataract and referred for surgery at Coxs Bazar Baitush Sharaf Hospital.

The surgery and associated travel and accommodation costs was covered by The Fred Hollows Foundation through the support of the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP).

When the eye patch was removed after the operation, Obaidul was overjoyed.

“It’s really unexplainable – the emotion and the feeling. For the last two years I couldn’t see anything, but suddenly I’m seeing everything.

Obaidul is currently running a small business, collecting betel leaves from gardens and selling them in the local market.