Over 5 days inside a busy maternity hospital in Lima, Peru, 21 young patients were carefully screened, and 16 children went on to receive surgery for strabismus. Strabismus is a condition that causes the eyes to misalign.
These children, aged between two and thirteen, had each been living with vision problems that were negatively impacting their childhoods. For many of them, this was their first real chance to access specialist eye care.
Among them was a little girl called Naya.
Naya is five years old and her mother, Alida, first noticed something was wrong when Naya was just three months old. At an age when babies usually begin to focus on faces and respond to familiar voices, Naya didn’t seem to recognise the people around her.
Determined to find answers, Alida searched for help wherever she could. Alida was told to come to the hospital San Bartolomé Hospital in Lima, where Naya was born. Here, at age 5 months, Naya was examined by a doctor, who diagnosed her with strabismus and prescribed her first pair of glasses.
“I know she didn’t recognize us before the glasses, because the moment we put the glasses on her, she grabbed her dad’s face, and she laughed, and her dad cried”
In that moment, their daughter was truly seeing her parents for the first time.
It was a life-changing moment, one that shows just how much access to eye care can matter for children and families.
During the week-long training, Naya received surgery for her strabismus.
You can help more children like Naya see a brighter future. Donate today.
The training done in Peru shows what is possible when skilled professionals and training come together. Two expert Orbis volunteers, Dr. Henry O'Halloran and Dr. Ghalib Mukadam, led the programme.
At Orbis, we support programmes like this by training local eye care teams in low- and middle-income countries, helping children like Naya receive sight-saving treatment.
This World Health Day, Naya’s story reminds us that sight is not a luxury. Every child deserves the chance to see clearly, to explore, and to live fully.
