Back To Life With Grandchildren By Her Side
Vimla Devi, 60, is once again the heart of her home — cooking, cleaning, and caring for her grandchildren with ease. After nearly two years of living in blurred darkness, her vision has been restored.
Vimla's life — once shrinking in shadows — is full of meaning and motion again. Not just her sight, but her role, her dignity, and her peace have been restored.
Back to Life with Grandchildren by Her Side
Every morning now, Vimla Devi wakes up to the playful shrieks of her grandchildren. She cooks, folds clothes, and waters the tulsi plant — just like she used to. After nearly two years of living in blurred silence, she can see again.
I’m no longer sitting in a corner, waiting for someone to feed me. I can take care of my family — and myself — again, she says, her eyes glowing more with pride than vision.
A Widow’s Silent Despair
60-year-old Vimla Devi lives in Guwaati, a small village in Bihar, with her younger daughter and her family. Abandoned by her two married sons and widowed early in life, Vimla had already been carrying the weight of emotional rejection.
Still, she found purpose in supporting her daughter and looking after her grandchildren.
But that changed when her eyesight began to fade.
At first, I thought it was just age. But slowly, I couldn’t even see the faces I loved the most, she recalls.
Cataracts clouded her eyes, and poverty clouded her chances of treatment. Her daughter — not financially independent — couldn’t help either. Vimla became fully dependent. The emotional toll was heavier than the physical.
I used to feel like I was in everyone’s way. I stopped speaking. I cried silently at night. I hated needing help for everything.
A Camp That Changed Everything
One day, a neighbour mentioned a free eye screening camp being organised by Akhand Jyoti in the village, with support from our partners. It was meant for people like Vimla — poor, ignored, and fading into darkness.
She was hesitant but desperate. At the camp, the staff treated her kindly.
I was scared, but they made me feel seen — even before my surgery, she says.
After the check-up, she was told her condition was treatable. A free cataract surgery was scheduled at Akhand Jyoti’s base hospital.
Care That Healed Beyond Sight
Transportation, meals, stay — everything was arranged.
I didn’t expect such care. From the bus ride to the hospital bed, I was treated with dignity, she says.
The surgery was successful. Vimla regained her vision — and her independence.
I remember the first time I saw my grandson’s face after surgery. I just held him and cried.
Living Again, Not Just Surviving
Today, Vimla moves freely, helps her daughter in the kitchen, and tends to her grandchildren with the same love she always had — now with sight.
I can fetch water, sweep the courtyard, and hold my grandkids without fumbling. I’m not a burden anymore. I’m living.
Vimla's life — once shrinking in shadows — is full of meaning and motion again. Not just her sight, but her role, her dignity, and her peace have been restored.
Join Us in Realising Vision 2030
Under our Vision 2030, Akhand Jyoti aims to eliminate curable blindness by performing 2 million free eye surgeries, reaching 12 million individuals, and empowering 1,500 rural girls to become optometrists and change-makers.
You can be part of this transformative journey.
Gift someone the ability to see again.
Your support can help restore sight, dignity, and independence to someone who needs it most.
Donate now to sponsor a free eye surgery and become a partner in creating a blindness-free, empowered rural India.
