Giving the gift of sight worldwide

 

Cataracts begin forming in all people beginning around the age of 50. If left untreated, they eventually obscure vision until a person becomes functionally blind.

Dr. John Haines, an elite ophthalmologist from Eugene, Oregon, has been passionately leading cataract removal missions to developing nations around the world for over 25 years. These missions restore the sight of medically underserved people whose hope of ever seeing family and friends was robbed due to cataract obstruction. When asked about why he’s so passionate about these missions, his immediate response is, “Why? Because it’s an amazing feeling!” This is easy to understand. Many of the people Dr. Haines treats during his missions have been blind for years, many times for decades, due to cataract obstruction. During the patch removal ceremony (where all the post-operative patients remove their bandages), patients are able to see their family, friends or dearest loved ones for the first time in years, if not decades. It is an amazingly emotional moment that tugs on the heartstrings and underscores Dr. Haines’ quote above.

In 2012, Dr. Haines and his wife, Joy, established The Give Me Sight Foundation to dedicate even more time, resources and donated funds to the cause of restoring the gift of sight for medically underserved populations in developing nations. If you would like to help us in this life-altering mission of restoring the sight of the cataract blind, please visit our home page and click on the “donate now” button. Or you can simply follow us on Facebook, or read our news blog to be informed about our most recent activities.

As for our 2018 mission: We will be conducting eye camps in two different countries this year – the mysterious country of Myanmar and the beautiful country of Thailand! In an effort to bring the beauty of our cause to a wider audience, we filmed a high quality documentary about our 2016 mission! You can access the “Give Me Sight” documentary on our website or on YouTube. Furthermore, we are thrilled to announce that it received the Best Feature Documentary award from the 2017 Oregon International Film Awards! For more information about our current activities, please join us on Facebook or view our blog.