Building on the excitement experienced with the opening of the new complex, May 4 2004 proved to be the beginning of another emotional and touching week for the children and staff of Bobbili Blind school in India. After careful screening of 90 children by Dr Ali, from Shimla Adventist Hospital, 23 blind children were selected as possible candidates for surgery to restore their sight and 15 albino children were assessed for colored contact lenses to make up for the lack of pigment in their irises. The operations were made possible through the generous support of Garwin McNeilus, an Adventist businessman from the USA and the coordinating expertise of Doug Clark from Maranatha, India. Dorothy Watts kept a diary of the events that unfolded.

Wednesday May 5
After breakfast we went to the lodge where the children were staying. Fifteen were chosen for screening today. The children formed a line, right hand on the shoulder of the person in front, and in this way they walked the two blocks to the waiting bus. The children were quiet, but we could sense their excitement. Once the bus was moving, the children pressed their faces to the windows as normal children would do.

Behind me sat thirteen-year-old Harish.
"Are you afraid?" I asked.
"No," he replied. "I am happy I will have operation. I hope I can see."

Hope, I was to discover before the day was over, was the one thing that gave all the children courage to face their ordeal of waiting, seemingly endless examinations by several doctors, and the trauma of the operation itself.

Dr. Ali met us at the entrance of L. V. Prasad Hospital, a state-of-the-art facility where more than 20,000 eye surgeries are performed every year. Traffic stopped on the busy road as we led the blind children across and into a park-like campus bright with flowering flame trees and green lawns with yellow marigold borders. So much beauty, I thought, but none of these children can enjoy it.

Ten-year-old Venkatalaxmi was the smallest girl present, looking more like a child of five. She clung tightly to me and whispered, "Pray for me Mummy ... Please sing to me." We sang softly together Jesus Loves Me, This I Know.

"If you get your sight, what do you want to see?" I asked each child.

Garwin with a boy who now has new glasses

"I want to see my parents' faces" said twelve-year-old Pappa Rao.

"I want to see my village and my house" eight-year-old Boja Rao said.

"I want to see all of God's creation, the birds and flowers and trees" declared Madav Rao.

"I want to see the cow, the buffalo and the donkey," Prasad told me "I have touched them, but I want to see them."

"I would like to watch India's cricket team on TV" was N. Shankar's wish.

"I want to see Jesus" said thirteen-year-old Laxman Rao.

When I explained that even I, with two good eyes, could not see Jesus, he replied "Then show me a picture of Jesus".

Thursday, May 6
Eight-year-old Sreenu was the first to have an operation today. At first the doctors refused to operate, saying he had only a ten per cent chance of success. The mother who accompanied him wept openly at such sad news. He was examined by another doctor and the decision was to go ahead anyway.

There was time today to read some of the posters in the hallways outside the waiting room. From these I learned some astounding facts: There are 50 million totally blind people in the world and another 130 million visually impaired. There are 20 million blind in India. Eighty per cent of blindness could be prevented. I think of what the doctor said to Sreenu's mother ... "If we could only have operated before the age of five, we could have given him 100% chance of sight".

Friday, May 7
... bandages are scheduled to come off starting at 7:30. We don't want to miss the excitement of this day! We were invited to see the doctor remove the bandage from Satish's eye after a successful cornea transplant. Whereas both eyes had been opaque white, now one was bright with color, a brand new clear eye! We watched his eye muscles begin to work at focusing. After some eye drops and a few minutes of adjustment he was able to follow patterns with his good eye and to identify the number of fingers shown from a distance of three feet. His vision will continue to improve gradually for several more days and weeks, the doctor told us. I could not speak, so choked was I from emotion.

As we sat waiting ... Sreenu came in with his mother, Shirojini. Both faces were wreathed in smiles. "I can see my mother's face" Sreenu told me. She cried tears of joy as I laid my hands on Sreenu and praised the Lord for his goodness. He had been given but a ten per cent chance, and it had paid off. My heart was full of thankfulness for a doctor who was willing to take the chance.

Today the fifteen albino children are getting fitted for contact lenses and five more are scheduled for cataract removal. I was there to see Garwin McNeilus place glasses on the face of twelve-year-old Job. Job gripped the hand of his benefactor and said, "Sir, thank you! I will never forget you and what you have done for me. Thank you for helping me see again. I want to become a biology teacher and come back to the Bobbili Blind School to teach." Taking a Bible, he read a few verses of the fine print. What a moment! What a day!

Sabbath, May 8
This morning we watched the doctors remove the bandage from twelve-year-old Pappa Rao who had been totally blind since birth. It was exciting to see Pappa Rao immediately able to identify the number of fingers from a distance of six feet. Pappa Rao's father entered and fell to the floor grabbing my feet and weeping. The tears streamed down his brown weather-beaten face, tears of gratitude and wonder and love.

We were also present when the bandage was taken from the eye of seventeen-year-old Devaraj after his cataract operation. His father was brought in to witness the joy of his son's restored sight. For him the blessing was tripled today. Three sons, ages 17, 14, and 12 all received the gift of sight.

Sunday, May 9
Today the children went back home to Bobbili Blind School, but it was a journey much different from the one coming. Fifteen were measured for contact lenses, one received glasses, and eleven had successful operations. One more will get his glasses later this month and two more will have operations at a later date. Altogether 30 children received the gift of sight.

"We had hoped that we could find at least two children that we could help to see." said Garwin McNeilus. "We never dreamed we could help so many. I wouldn't have missed this for anything."

"What happened was fantastic, truly a miracle." said Principal Prabhudas. "We praise the Lord for what He has done through Garwin McNeilus, Maranatha, Asian Aid and the doctors at L. V. Prasad Hospital."

Final Comments
Asian Aid thanks all those who have supported our special blind children over the years and those who support our many other projects. Without your faithful support this day may not have come and it is our belief that all things work together for good. We wish that we could restore the eyesight of all the children sponsored however it is unfortunately too late for some. In the schools they attend each child is taught that God will one day restore all of them to full sight and that He can use all children in marvelous ways, blind or not.