The glasses that changed Minoti's life

Minoti is 50 and lives in the Malnicherra tea garden area in Sylhet, Bangladesh. Like many women in her community, she has spent most of her life plucking tea leaves. The work is physically demanding and requires strong eyesight to carefully identify, sort and collect tea leaves for hours at a time under bright sunlight, often in hot and challenging conditions.

Over the years, Minoti started struggling to see. Her blurred vision made daily life harder and made her work almost impossible: “Because of eye issues, I was unable to collect tea leaves. I was unable to face the sun. I felt pressure increasing behind my eyes and I had severe headaches. I was worried I would have to stop working.”

Without treatment, Minoti's vision continued to worsen over time. 

Tea workers in Bangladesh face many health challenges. In tea garden communities, access to basic healthcare is limited, and eye care services are often completely unavailable.

Many people are left with no choice but to rely on traditional healers or home remedies when eye problems develop. A lack of awareness around eye health, combined with misconceptions and financial barriers, means many people delay or avoid treatment altogether.

Without proper care, common and treatable conditions such as refractive error can seriously affect a person's life, income and independence.

This is why Orbis works with local partners to bring essential eye care directly to underserved communities.

Through the project Tackling Visual Impairment among Tea Workers in Sylhet District, Bangladesh. Eye care teams visited homes across tea garden communities to screen families for vision problems.

This door-to-door approach helps identify patients who may otherwise never receive treatment.  

In April 2024, project workers visited Minoti's home and tested the eyesight of her family.

They diagnosed Minoti with refractive error, a common vision problem in the UK that can often be corrected with a simple pair of glasses.

She was referred to an eye camp held at the local garden health centre, where doctors carried out further checks and prescribed spectacles and eye drops, all free of charge.

Just days later, Minoti collected her glasses and the impact was immediate.

Her vision improved significantly, her headaches eased and she was able to return to work.

“After getting the glasses, now I can go to work. Now I feel well, and I have no headache. I can now gather tea leaves.”

Something as simple as a pair of glasses helped restore Minoti's independence and income.

She can now continue supporting her family and once again enjoy everyday moments, including seeing her children's smiles clearly.

For many people, glasses are easy to access. But for communities living in poverty or remote areas, they can be life changing and out of reach.

Minoti's story is a reminder that avoidable vision impairment does not just affect eyesight. It affects livelihoods, confidence, health and family life.

No one should lose their income or independence because they cannot access basic eye care.

With support from projects like this, more tea workers and their families in Bangladesh can access screenings, treatment, free spectacles and referrals for ongoing care.

Minoti will continue attending regular follow up visits to help protect her sight for the future.

Across low- and middle-income countries, millions of people are living with avoidable vision loss simply because they cannot access the care they need.

Orbis is working to change that.

By strengthening local eye care services and reaching communities directly, Orbis is helping people like Minoti protect their sight, keep working and build brighter futures.

A simple eye test can change everything, and your support can make that happen.