Each person facing vision loss has a unique and compelling story to tell. Bushra is a 20 year old girl, youngest of her 8 siblings. She was very young when her mother became ill and was often in and out of hospital. Her father who ran a small carpentry shop also kept poor health. Her parent’s illness meant that most of the income was spent towards hospitals fees. Consequently, Bushra was forced to drop out of school when she was very young.

Sometime later, both her parents passed away. At that time 6 of her

brothers and sisters were married. Bushra started to live with her unmarried sister and since she did not have any formal education and her elder brothers were doing casual jobs, Bushra began looking for a job as a housemaid.

Luckily she found one in a beauty parlour and through hard work and a desire to succeed; she soon opened up a small salon at her residence in Korangi 2 1/2, earning approximately Rs. 4000 every month.

Bushra was struggling hard and was determined to grow and do well in her profession, but after sometime she realized that her vision had begun to deteriorate and this was beginning to affect service to her clients. Due to paucity of funds, she tried several local remedies but in vain. She was disheartened as all her dreams were shattering one by one and she could not do anything about it. She asked her siblings for help but no one came forward as they too could not afford to get her treated. Bushra finally closed down her parlour as she had almost lost her vision and the future seemed hopeless. She felt helpless and there were days when there was barely enough food in the house. She had become totally dependant upon her siblings for virtually everything in life.

A year later, hope flickered once again: A former colleague of her father came to tell her that she could get her eyes treated in a free eye hospital near by. She immediately went to LRBT Free Eye Hospital in Korangi and after a thorough examination; she was diagnosed with Cataract in both her eyes. Her surgery was performed the very next week that not only give back her eye sight but also restored her livelihood. Bushra has restarted t her small salon and was once again able to support herself.

Bushra says:
“LRBT has made a significant difference in my life. It has transformed me from being a burden on my family to a beautician who aspires to become a true professional and provide excellent services to her clients.I am deeply thankful to God along with all the doctors, the staff and the donors for giving me back my lost vision.”