Sight for 1 Million Children

In 2018, Seva and our corporate partner MODO came together and forged a commitment to reach 1 million children around the world with eye care services by 2020. MODO committed to funding half of the pediatric screenings and challenged Seva donors to fund the other half. As of 30 June 2020, six months ahead of schedule, Seva and our partners in nine countries had exceeded our target of 1 million. As of Dec 2020, we screened 1,097,467 children – 97,000 children over our goal!

We plan to screen 3 million more children worldwide as part of our C20/20 campaign.

The following stories highlight the impact Sight for 1 Million Children has made in the lives of the children, their families, and their communities.

Our Strategic Partners and Program Initiatives

AIDS Eye Initiative

EYExcel

Guatemala Brillando

MODO Buy a Frame, Help a Child to See

Native American Vision

GUATEMALA Emily

The economic situation of her parents was strained. Her father, the family’s sole provider, works as an assistant accountant and earns minimum wage. It has been very difficult for her parents to buy the glasses that would correct Emily's problem and they were distressed because they could not help her properly. They did not have enough money for their daily needs much less for this additional expense.

Despite their financial concerns, they wanted to make sure their daughter got the care she needed. They took her to Visualiza, Seva’s partner in Guatemala, to get an eye exam. Because of our partnership, Visualiza was able to waive the costs. Since Visualiza helped Emily obtain her glasses at no cost, her life has changed radically.

Today, Emily feels more excited when she goes to school and can see everything that happens around her. Now she fully understands the lessons taught by her teacher and does not need to stand in front of the blackboard to write down her assignments.

Her parents report that she is a happier girl; she learns her lessons more easily and her teacher notes that she shares more time with her classmates. At home she shares more joy with her parents and her little sister.

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Stories related to Sight for 1 Million Children

GUATEMALA Emily

Emily grew up in a poor family in Guatemala City. Ever since she started going to school, her parents realized that Emily's vision was not right. Soon the school principal told them that Emily could not see her books, her notebooks, and that she had to go up to the blackboard to write down what her teacher told her. The economic situation of her parents was strained. Despite their financial concerns, they wanted to make sure their daughter got the care she needed. They took her to Visualiza, Seva's partner in Guatemala, to get an eye exam. Because of our partnership, Visualiza was able to waive the costs. Read full story.

INDIA Muskaan

As Muskaan neared the age of 15, there was an eye camp which was set up in her school. All the girls were very excited to get their eyes tested. As Muskaan's turn came, the doctor saw that something wasn't right. He immediately called for her father and Muskaan got her first prescription glasses. This only gave her partial relief. She still wasn't very comfortable with her sight as there was partial blindness in one eye. She didn't want to trouble her parents, as the family of four still had difficulty in making ends meet. Muskaan lost all of her confidence and wondered why she had this great misfortune. When they learned about Seva's partner, Dr. Shroff's Charity Eye Hospital, it was truly like a miracle. Read full story.

BURUNDI Darlene and Myriam

Darlene, 4 years old, and Myriam, 2 years old, live with their family in Burundi. The sisters were born with cataracts in both eyes. The girls' mother and grandmother took turns caring for them while they went to work on the farm. "It was a distressing situation in the family. We didn't know how to take care of a blind child," their grandmother noted. One day, while at the market, a man approached Darlene and Myriam's mother. He had been trained by Seva's partner hospital to recognize signs that someone had vision problems. He told their mom about the eye hospital and that they might be able to help. Read full story.

GUATEMALA Carlos

At Visualiza, a long-time Seva partner, the hospital trains many teachers year after year, in order to treat and reach a large number of children throughout Guatemala. Carlos, an outreach manager at Visualiza, helps make this training possible. "Every time we train a teacher, we empower them with our vision of giving back the light to people who want to see," says Carlos. This transforms the lives of teachers as they become individuals of change for their communities, since they possess the necessary tools to be able to change the lives of their students and children in their community. Read full story.

Care for Children

Today, more than 90 million children and adolescents live with some form of visual impairment. Most of these kids live in areas of the world where even the most basic eye care services continue to be out of reach. Combatting child blindness is one of the most cost effective health interventions and kids who have their sight restored are given an average of 50 years of sight.

Seeing the World Through A Child's Eyes

In less time than it takes to read this article, a child will lose their eyesight. One every minute. The child will likely be living in poverty, struggling for survival in one of the many parts of the world where access to even the most basic of eye care services continue to be out of reach.

Donor Spotlight: Nikolas Toocheck

"Just thinking about the kids out there that can't see, I just couldn't imagine not being able to see and I really hope that I can help change that for a lot of kids," says Nikolas.

Bio Eyes Will Provide Comprehensive Eye Care to 200,000 School Children in India

Seva is excited to announce the launch of our new Buy a Frame, Help a Child to See program in partnership with the eyewear brand Bio Eyes. Through sales from this line of eco-friendly eyewear, Bio Eyes will support Seva's efforts to screen the eyes of 200,000 school children in India.

Seva Screens the Eyes of Over 100,000 Children in Cambodia

For nearly 20 years, Seva has been dedicated to building sustainable pediatric eye care programs in Cambodia - programs that provide sight-saving care to children in need throughout the country.

Bringing the World into Focus for Nepali Children in Need

If you have the opportunity to travel to Nepal, a country where 33% of the population is under the age of 14, you will surely notice the smiling faces of children everywhere you go. You may also notice that very few of these children are wearing eyeglasses.

Patient Spotlight: Meet 9-Year-Old Wendy

A nervous mother brought her nine-year-old daughter Wendy to a Seva-sponsored outreach screening camp, hoping the doctors could restore sight to her blind eye. Five years ago, Wendy had lost vision in her eye after accidentally being bumped in the head while playing with friends.

Seva's Inaugural #SevaSocialGiving Crowdfunding Campaign

Your support of this innovative campaign made it possible for Seva to train 40 teachers in Cambodia who are screening the eyes of 29,000 students for visual impairment. These efforts are identifying children who need of glasses and sight-saving medical care, like sweet 7-year-old Bopha who is featured in this video.

Seva Donors Make The Miracle of Sight Possible in Cambodia

This past February, a rural school in Cambodia experienced firsthand how the support and compassion of Seva donors, combined with a few dashes of serendipity, changed the lives of the students and teachers forever.