10-year-old Jesika avoids blindness after finding treatment at a Tej Kohli & Ruit Foundation camp. | #2030InSight
On the second day of the Tej Kohli and Ruit Foundation microsurgical camp in Dolakha, Nepal, a ten year old girl arrived at the camp with her father. Visibly nervous, she clutched on to her father’s hand as the ophthalmic assistant asked her about her vision.
Jesika is a young school girl from Dolakha who’s worsening vision had begin to severly affect her education. Speaking to her father, Bishnu, a team member from the Tej Kohli & Ruit Foundation learned that Jesika had been complaining about difficulty seeing the blackboard in her school classroom for nearly two years.
Jesika’s father is a migrant worker who had been working in India’s hospitality sector. He was forced to return home to Nepal in 2020 after the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a national lockdown in India.
At home Bishnu and his wife constantly worried about their daughter’s deteriorating vision. Things had gotten much worse over time until she was unable to see anything at all during the night. After schools reopened in 2021, Jesika‘s struggle continued in the classroom.
When the Tej Kolhi & Ruit Foundation screening team arrived in his village, Bishnu brought his daughter in for screening. The screening team confirmed that Jesika suffered from congenital cataracts, and that she would have to undergo surgery. The health assistants also told Bichnu that there was a chance that Jesika would have to be taken to Kathmandu for her surgery.
Holding his daughters hand and holding onto hope, Bishnu arrived for Jesika’s surgery. After Dr. Sanduk Ruit checked Jesika’s eye, he confirmed that her surgery could indeed take place at the camp itself. Bishnu breathed a sigh of relief. He called his wife back home and gave her the good news.
Jesika’s surgery was performed by Dr. Sanduk Ruit — a world recognized eye surgeon and co-founder of the Tej Kohli and Ruit Foundation. Following the surgery, the next day Jesika had her patches were removed. She told the doctor that she could see clearly and the doctor asked Jesika to look for her her father who was looking at his daughter from a distance. She instantly recognized him.
Bishnu came forward, and after Jesika shared a joyful and appreicitive smile, her father, who was overwhelmed with emotion, broke down in tears — tears of joy nonetheless.
He was grateful and overwhelmed with happiness that his daughter was able to see again.
Blindness had not only threatened Jesika’s vision, but also her future. Now, she could live a life without a visual impairment, attend school along with her friends, play like everyone else, and have an equal opportunity in life. Just like everyone else.
For more information about the Tej Kohli & Ruit Foundation visit www.TejKohliRuit.com
