Lost Sight at the Top of the World

The World Health Organisation estimates a total of 32.000.000 blind people in developing countries. Their blindness is the result of bad hygiene, low quality of food and lack of good medical conditions. Cataract is the most common and treatable form of blindness.
Blindness in a developing country not only deprives one of sight but also of independence. Working is not possible and one is dependent on their family and children.
Nepal, the top of the world, is one of the poorest countries in the world. Agriculture is by more than 80 percent the most important source of income. Two thirds of the 26 million inhabitants live in the mountain regions where blindness causes a real problem because it is too remote to seek medical help. The Eye care Foundation trains Nepali eye doctors in order to decrease the number of blindness. Special training camps visit remote mountain areas near the Himalaya to get rid of the operable forms of cataract. Hundreds of people walk for days to reach the camp and some of them are even carried by a relative in a basket. Both Hindu, Buddhist and Christians pray for a happy end. Even though they pray for different Gods, the mountains offer houses of prayer for every religion.

In this documentary I followed a 92 year old woman who was blind on both eyes. She was depressed and had no social life anymore. She was carried in a basket through the steep valleys and was successfully operated. After several years she can finally see her own daughter.
Another part of this documentary consists of the Tibetan refugees who fled from Tibet for the Chinese invasion and still live in enormous poverty. They sold part of their land to the Eye Care Foundation in order to build an eye clinic in Pokhara. Even though they make ends meet by making carpets, they still hope to once get back to Tibet.
A traditional cremation in Pashupatinath is the last part of this documentary. On the banks of the Bagmati river tens of relatives are burried. Every step in this ritual is performed with great care in which the deceased are prepared for reincarnation. The Eye Care Foundation is even considering to use the cornea of the deceased – with mutual agreement - to help the blind in the future.