For four long years, darkness defined the world of Margaret Supuleti, a 50-year-old single mother from Chikulingeni Village in Dedza District. Once a vibrant and industrious woman who earned a living in the tobacco fields of Mozambique, Margaret’s life took a heartbreaking turn when cataracts robbed her of her sight.
Unable to work, she was forced to abandon the life she had built and return to her home village — dependent on the goodwill of family and neighbours for survival.
But Margaret’s suffering did not end there.
Her youngest son, 12-year-old Suganiza, was also born with congenital bilateral cataracts — a condition that left him unable to see clearly since birth. Poverty and lack of access to specialised medical care meant his vision problem went untreated, and as the years passed, both mother and son found themselves trapped in a cycle of helplessness.
Their days were marked by quiet struggle — navigating familiar paths by memory, depending on others for even the simplest tasks.
For Margaret, every sunrise brought another day of frustration and fear. For Suganiza, who had never seen the inside of a classroom, the darkness meant a childhood without learning or play.
Suganiza had never been to school and relied on Margaret for basic needs, even though she herself was nearly helpless.
But hope came unexpectedly. Margaret heard an announcement in her village that a team of doctors from Kamuzu Central Hospital supported by Sightsavers would be visiting the area for an eye screening camp.
Fast-forward to date, Margaret and her son underwent successful surgeries at Dedza District Hospital and Kamuzu Central Hospital respectively thanks to SightSavers.
For Margaret, the surgeries meant she can return to her normal life—working in the fields, supporting her family, and reclaiming her independence.
For Suganiza, this marked the beginning of new opportunities, including the possibility of attending school for the first time in his life.
The impact that access to cataract surgery can have is seen through stories such as Margaret and her 12-year-old son, Suganiza now christened Chisomo.
Sightsavers was able to support the mother and son to have the surgery needed to restore their sight.
In Malawi, Sightsavers is supporting the government and other partners to enhance vision and eye health services.
This includes provision of sight restoring cataract surgeries, treatment of eye ailments, screening children and teachers in schools and provision of glasses, training eye health personnel, provision of glaucoma care and supporting climate resilient interventions.
As Malawi joins the rest of the international community in celebrating World Sight Day on 9 October, Sightsavers has called for further action to reduce the global burden of avoidable vision impairment such as uncorrected refractive errors and cataract.
Bright Chiwaula, Country Director at Sightsavers said: “Making eye care a priority will be transformational for people, communities, and nations. Good eye health can reduce inequities, get more children in school and enable more adults to work. Access to glasses and cataract surgery could boost learning and economic productivity.”
“We commend existing efforts from governments, donors, decision-makers, NGOs, and other partners, but big changes are still needed to make avoidable vision impairment truly avoidable. We need global leadership and commitments, funding and partnerships, to deliver solutions that tackle avoidable vision impairment,” Chiwaula said.
Increased investment in eye care from governments, philanthropists and organisations will unlock the potential for more people in Malawi to learn, earn and prosper.
A new research from IAPB, Seva Foundation and Fred Hollows Foundation estimates that addressing preventable vision impairment by 2030 would return US$8.52 million to the country’s economy.
It is also estimated that the impact of prioritising vision and eye care could generate the equivalent of 2,019 school years.
It added that the Vision and eye care is often a ‘missing’ topic in health and development priorities, but at least 1 billion people worldwide – that’s one in eight of people – have an untreated or preventable vision impairment.
Eye health interventions including cataract surgery and glasses are cost-effective, with an estimated return on investment in low to middle income countries of US$28 for every dollar invested 3.
Yet, the right to sight is not universal.
More than 85% of people with vision impairment live in low and middle income countries. Shockingly, 70% of people with refractive error in Africa do not have the glasses they need.
Women also account for more than half of blindness and visual impairment across the world.
By Mwai Mtumodzi
