Dear Friend of Enfoque Ixcán,
Have you noticed we are inundated with crises lately? We have floods, tornados, wildfires and hurricanes, not to mention a health care crisis and cries of constitutional crises. It’s almost as if life is a crisis!
Well, in Ixcán, Guatemala, life is a crisis, for most people. They live with many conditions we would call crises, like no running water, unpredictable electrical supply, no paved roads, limited educational opportunities, a lack adequate health care, and other circumstances associated with extreme poverty.
Susana, before surgery
However, with your help, Enfoque Ixcán is solving the chronic crisis of accessible, affordable eye care. Consider Susana. Susana had a serious eye infection, yet due to a lack of information and access to care, her infection festered for 7 years.
She hid her grotesque eye with a lock of hair and a pained expression. All the while her eye was becoming more infected. When we found her, it looked like it might explode.
Susana, After
Help came from our donors, like you, as we were able to get her professional care. Her eye was removed and she was fitted with a prosthetic eye. Her entire appearance changed into a lovely, young woman with a bright smile and a promising outlook on life. You can solve a chronic, personal crisis, like Susana’s.
Your generosity will bring a smile to others with similar problems. Susana’s treatment, including her prosthetic eye, was only $300.Your donation will go a long way toward correcting serious eye problems.
A more common example of how you can help with the chronic crisis of life in Ixcán is the identification and treatment of blindness due to cataracts. Estimates are that 4,000 older adults in Ixcán are blind from cataracts.
Cataracts in Ixcán commonly result in blindness due to the lack of education about treatment and the lack of access to care. Without Enfoque Ixcán, going blind in old age is just a fact of life, one of those chronic crises of living in poverty.
Manuel Garcia
Manuel is a perfect example. By age 70, Manuel was functionally blind from cataracts. He heard from a friend about the services of Enfoque Ixcán. Donor generosity allowed Manuel to have eye surgery and get his sight back. He no longer needed to be led to the latrine in the middle of the night. He no longer needed someone to guide him to church on Sunday.
After his cataract surgeries Manuel began tending his garden again and taking his vegetables to market, again. His life and dignity were restored. Your gifts allow these little miracles to happen, and remember, there are many others like Manuel in Ixcán.
Your gift of a cataract surgery, like Manuel’s, costs only $165 (about 5% of the cost in the U.S.). Will you consider funding 1 or more cataract surgeries?
Lack of access to eye care is a crisis of health, dignity and prosperity.
Imagine waking up every day with the personal crisis of treatable blindness or the pain and emotional weight of an infected eye, without the knowledge or resources to correct your problem. This is life for many in Ixcán.
Take advantage of this opportunity to help people who are living a personal eye care crisis. It will not only allow them to live happier, more productive lives, it gives them hope to know that you care.
Your $30 gift will provide someone with prescription glasses. Can I count on you to fund 2 or 3 pairs of glasses to allow a student to be a more efficient learner?
You have the ability to enrich someone’s life
with basic eye care.
Donate online now.
Thank you.
Best wishes for the holiday season,
Scott Pike, OD
P.S. By making a donation today, you will give someone a higher quality of life at his or her home in Ixcán. You will make affordable eye care accessible. Please give today.