Help Kids Like Smiley Avoid Blindness

Little Smiley, pictured above, lives in India and was born blind from cataract. Both of her parents live with irreversible vision-related problems, so when they were told that their baby was also blind, their dreams came crashing down. They feared their baby girl would never see their faces, watch the sunset or even go to school.

Smiley and her parents are not alone. Around the world, an estimated 285 million people live with visual impairment. A startling 90 percent of these live in developing countries.

There is good news: an astonishing 80 percent of blindness can be prevented or cured.

Fortunately, Smiley's vision-related challenges could be corrected. Thanks to surgery on both eyes, Smiley can see today! Her parents are grateful for their daughter — "She is the anchor to our lives; she is our eyes!"

Every child has the right to see their family, but without adequate access to affordable medical care, not everyone is as lucky as Smiley.

The first step to fixing this problem is to put your support behind the right to see. Please take action today if you believe that every child, woman and man has the right to see a world free of avoidable blindness.