Blind girl from Taungup needs financial aid to undergo sight-restoring surgery

By DMG 25 Sep 2021

DMG Newsroom
25 September 2021, Taungup 

A 13-year-old blind girl from Barya village in Taungup Township, Arakan State, needs financial assistance for eye surgery to restore her sight, her family said. 

The girl lost her eyesight when she was 6 years old and the doctor told the family to have her undergo an operation to restore her sight when she reached 13 years of age. 

But now that she has reached the suitable age, her parents say they cannot afford the medical costs. 

Daw Aye Aye Naing, the child’s mother, said: “I want my daughter to get her eyesight back. We are daily wage workers and we cannot afford medical expenses. When she was young, the Road Special Team provided help for us, but the doctor told us to provide eye surgery when she reached 13 years old.” 

The girl lost her eyesight without suffering any injury, the family said. 

The Metta Kan Let charity group in Taungup town is assisting the family, but more donors are needed to fund her surgery, said Ko Nyi Nyi, chair of the group. 

“We cannot guess how much money they will need for the eye surgery. She has to undergo operations for both eyes,” he said. 

The group has planned for her to undergo the surgery at Thandwe Hospital in southern Arakan State, he said, adding that she will be sent to Yangon if the operation cannot be provided in Thandwe.