My name is Kornye.
I am a farmer.
I am a dad.
I have a nine-year-old daughter named Angelé.
One day, I noticed that one of Angelé’s eyes was turning inwards. Her friends started teasing her because she was cross-eyed. She started having difficulty reading or focusing. Then I started seeing little white clouds in both of her eyes. They seemed to get bigger every time I looked at her. Eventually, Angelé was not able to go to school because she couldn’t even see her own hand in front of her face. She couldn’t even walk by herself anymore.
My heart broke for my daughter but I had no one to help her. I asked the doctor in my village for help but he couldn’t do anything for her. My friends told me that there was an eye doctor in the capital, but I didn’t have enough money to get there. I have never left my village.
Last month, a strange looking vehicle drove into our village. Some people got out of that vehicle and started examining the eyes of everyone in our village. They called themselves Sight.org.
Suddenly, my heart jumped. Could these people help my Angele? I ran and grabbed my daughter. As we waited in line, I had hope for the first time in years. A man from Sight.org looked at her eyes and declared that they could help her.
The day of her surgery, Angelé was frightened. She didn’t want to go in that strange looking vehicle. She cried, but she was brave, for me. I was nervous too, but I kept a brave face for my daughter. I watched her step into the vehicle and I wondered what they would do to her.
I prayed.
When she came out, she had bandages on both eyes and had to be led to a chair. It was hard to see my daughter this way. The next day, they took off the bandages. The people asked her to open her eyes, but she refused. She was too scared. She didn’t open her eyes for many hours.
My heart sunk. Was she in pain? Did the surgery work?
She finally opened her eyes, but she couldn’t see anything.
The Sight.org people came back a week later to check her eyes again. She opened her eyes for them this time, but they did not see any change. She still couldn’t see the doctor’s hands in front of her face. I looked at the doctor’s face. When I saw his face, I lost hope. He didn’t think she would be able to see again. I wondered if my daughter would ever see again.
Then, a miracle happened. One day, she could see her hands. Then she could see her feet. Each day, she could see a little more.
A month later, when Sight.org came back to check her eyes again, she was walking all by herself with a big smile on her face. She could count all of their fingers. Everyone started jumping and cheering for her. They all started praising Jesus. I will never forget that day.
Angelé is now back in school. She can play with her friends again. She can run into my arms again. I am so thankful for the gift that Sight.org has brought to my Angelé.
Our lives have been changed because someone cared enough to bring that strange looking vehicle to our village.