[VIDEO] The Heartwarming Moment When Two Blind Sisters See Their Mum For The First Time
On our FEEL GOOD FRIDAY column this week, we bring to you a heartwarming story of Sonia and Anita, two sisters living in India, who have been blind since birth, but a simple eye operation makes it possible for them to see their mom and the world for the first time.
By Sadho Ram — 10 Oct 2014, 10:16 AM — Updated about 10 years ago
Anita and Sonia are natives of Orissa state in Eastern India. They have been blind since birth. Born into a family of an extremely poor farmer, with no scope to afford treatment for them, their parents had lost all hopes of them being able to see with their eyes ever.
Little did they know that the type of blindness that affected Anita and Sonia could have been easily cured by a minor surgery, costing just USD300. However, for their father, who was having a hard time providing for their daily bread, saving money for the treatment of their blindness seemed like a Herculean task.
The cost was simply too expensive for the family that could barely make their ends meet. After all, staying alive was more important.
While the odds seemed greatly stacked against them, the sisters got a happy ending anyway. Thanks to the efforts of 20/20/20, a nonprofit organisation working to restore vision to blind children and adults in some of the world's poorest countries.
Folks at 20/20/20 work towards providing free of cost operations to blind people in several developing countries. The blind sisters Anita and Sonia were also included in a list of people selected to be operated upon and to be cured of their blindness.
inquisitr.com
How does the surgery work
A "miracle surgery" can restore the sight of a blind person and it only takes 15 minutes to perform. The procedure is literally a quick-fix. The nonprofit organization explains, "Through a small incision, the surgeon removes the defective lens that's causing the blindness and replaces it with an artificial lens that costs as little as $2." After a few hours, the patient can then remove bandages in place and open their eyes to see the world.
Anita and Sonia's story is beautifully documented in this video, capturing their initial experiences after the bandages come off:
Sonia and Anita are reportedly both doing well since their life-changing surgery. 20/20/20 says that the older sister is now going to school and has made friends. In the meantime, you can donate to the nonprofit organisation here.
