It started with
a tuk-tuk: Shamima’s story

One of the people who hears Mokhter’s message is Munina, for whom the news of free eye care is a godsend – her 20-year-old sister Shamima has been finding it increasingly difficult to see. Shamima has hearing and speech difficulties, and relies heavily on sight to communicate. Her family, who are loving and close-knit, have improvised their own sign language using touch, gestures and facial expressions, and even Shamima’s young child Toha can communicate with her this way.

Shamima’s eyesight has been deteriorating for the past two years, but the family doesn’t have enough money for her to visit a doctor. Her mother has spent all her savings on herbal treatments that they thought might help, but this hadn’t made a difference. So the prospect of a free eye screening is unbelievable news: Munina rushes home to tell Shamima.

After visiting the eye camp and having an examination, Shamima is referred to hospital for a cataract operation. The costs of all of this are covered by Sightsavers’ Right to Health project, funded by the UK government through UK Aid Match. Although this removes the financial burden on Shamima and her family, the surgery itself is still a daunting prospect.

“Our mother was very afraid of the surgery, and discouraged me from taking Shamima to the hospital,” says Munina. “She said: ‘At least Shamima can see with one of her eyes.’ She was very afraid that Shamima might lose vision in both of her eyes after the surgery. She was really very nervous, but my brother-in-law [Shamima’s husband] told us that this hospital is really very good.”

Syeda Asma Rashida, who works as a project manager for Sightsavers in Bangladesh, explains that there are special arrangements in place to support people with disabilities at the hospital.

“Attendees are often very afraid of cataract surgery,” she says. “Some people with disabilities won’t have the operation if no one accompanies them to the hospital. So we have very clear instructions with the hospital authority that if any companions come along with a person with a disability, they have to provide meals and accommodation for them.”

Munina and another sister, Doha, go to the hospital with Shamima to support her and help her communicate with the staff. After two days, they return home – with Shamima’s sight restored!

“Without the tuk-tuk announcement, I would not have had any indication of where I should go with Shamima,” says Munina. “I didn’t think about taking her to hospital [before then]. I knew that there was a hospital, but I didn’t know that this sort of surgery could be conducted there.”