Cataract operations
give people a new lease of life

Yin Kui, who is 78 years old, developed leprosy 44 years ago. When Yin Kui was first diagnosed, he was removed from his wife and two children and forced to live in the Behai Leprosy Village in Southern China. With no drug treatment available then, Yin Kui slowly lost the use of his hands and feet.

When Intrepid Kiwi and eye surgeon Keith Maslin met Yin Kui in China, during a visit with The Leprosy Mission’s partner HANDA, he had been blind for ten years and unable to move without help. Keith told us,

“Yin’s right eye was very scarred, but there was hope for his left eye. It was our privilege to remove the cataract and give Yin his sight back.”

It was a hugely emotional moment when the day after his eye surgery Yin Kui began to walk without help for the first time in ten years.

Keith Maslin has shared his knowledge and expertise with Leprosy Mission partner organisation HANDA in China over the last year. HANDA has a mobile surgical unit which travels around remote villages where Keith has performed cataract surgery with local surgeons.

Keith’s visits to China have proved very successful for Yin Kui and many more poverty-stricken villagers in remote areas.

Your Gift of Sight could help us to continue to perform cataract surgery and prevent unnecessary blindness.