January 2011

Over Christmas, I was blessed to be able to spend time with my children and grandchildren, time that is invaluable to me especially in today’s increasingly hectic world. I was also able to indulge in one of my favorite past times—basketball. As anyone who knows me can tell you, I am an avid basketball fan. Perhaps it stems from my Kentucky roots. Having come from a state where college basketball rivalries are the number-one topic of conversation, I naturally have a love of the sport. And though basketball is entertaining to watch, the sport also provides some valuable lessons on leadership and teamwork—lessons that are applicable in the larger world around us. The late great UCLA basketball coach John Wooden once said, “The true test of a man’s character is what he does when no one is watching.” I can’t help but think that this statement is especially true of CBM’s (Christian Blind Mission) outreach to the most vulnerable group in the world—people with disabilities living in dire poverty—especially our work in Haiti.

            For more than 100 years, CBM has changed the lives of people with disabilities in the poorest countries of the world because of our donors’ belief in us and our mission. Despite the ever fluctuating economy, our donors have continued to unselfishly extend their generosity and compassion. Because of this, 10 million people have received sight-restoring cataract surgery with millions more—mothers, fathers, children, grandchildren—directly benefitting. Families living in 99 countries worldwide have been given a chance to start a business, to grow, sell and store food, to keep their children safe from disease and malnutrition (and the disability that they bring). And, in one year of service alone, CBM donors make it possible for millions of people to walk, see, hear, or live full, productive lives. That’s pretty incredible, isn’t it?

Yet in addition to these services, CBM donors have also extended their support to help people with disabilities in the wake of devastating natural disasters like last year’s earthquake in Haiti and flooding in Pakistan. Since the earthquake struck in January of 2010, CBM and its partners have worked to not just rebuild Haiti, but to continue making it a stronger, more sustainable society where people with disabilities are fully included. We’ve assisted more than 63,000 survivors, many of whom suffered debilitating injuries that could have led to life-long disabilities if not for the intervention of CBM Haiti staff. With our partners, we’ve faced enormous challenges including the overall lack of infrastructure, political instability, the cholera outbreak, and the riots after the recent elections. But despite these challenges, CBM remains committed, just as it has for over 30 years, to building capacity and long-term sustainability in Haiti.

            That’s where I find Wooden’s quote so profound in relation to CBM’s work. Long after the cameras have gone, we remain in Haiti, quietly determined to ensure that people with disabilities receive the support they need. Even though there has been some recent criticism from the international community and from locals in Haiti that non-profit organizations have been slow to spend money to help, CBM is committed to wise investment. We do not spend our donors’ contributions unless we are confident that the funds are going toward a project with measurable impact and long-term benefits. From building a school for children with disabilities to lessening the spread of cholera in Haiti, every life we touch is possible because of our donors’ generosity.

            As we look toward the new year ahead, my promise to our donors is that CBM will remain a vigilant steward of your trust. We will continually evaluate our projects to ensure that they are making the greatest impact for those people most in need. Thank you for the lives you’ve touched. I look forward to what we will accomplish together in 2011.

May you experience God’s richest blessings.  

November 2010

This month, all of us at CBM continue to celebrate a remarkable milestone: the performance of the 10 millionth CBM-supported cataract surgery, an unprecedented accomplishment. On October 28, at a hospital in Moshi, Tanzania, Joyce Kayaa symbolically became the 10 millionth person to undergo the 20 minute operation, an operation that would undo heartache and sacrifice.

Watch our video about Elysee's cataract surgery in the Congo

Since our first cataract-surgery in Afghanistan more than 40 years ago, we have emerged as a world leader in the global fight to end preventable blindness. But the harsh fact is that there are approximately 18 million people worldwide who are blind from cataracts, the leading cause of low vision and blindness. And, each year, more than a million more go blind due to cataracts. This leads to devastating economic and quality of life effects on people who are already living in extreme poverty. Their chances of physical survival drastically spiral downward. In fact, in the developing world, more than half of the children who go blind will die within two years, according to the World Health Organization.

That’s why CBM’s goal is to reduce curable blindness even further. Yet our focus isn’t just on numbers but on each and every person whose fate we can change. People like Joyce.

One of Ten Million

Nine months ago, Joyce’s quality of life began to suffer as her vision grew increasingly worse. Each day, she became more dependent upon the help of family members. Before long, she could no longer dress herself or read from her Bible. Taking care of the livestock she owned was not only difficult, it was dangerous. When she accidentally injured a cow with a knife she couldn’t see hidden in the grass, it became clear that Joyce needed full-time assistance.

Though her family stepped in to help, they did so at a high cost. Her son gave up his training to become a gardener, and her niece quit her job. This loss of income stressed the family’s finances.

Yet just when Joyce had almost given up hope, she was screened by CBM health-workers who gave her incredible news: she had cataracts, and there was a simple surgery that would restore her sight.

Today, Joyce is recovering and looking forward to doing the things she once loved, especially reading from her Bible. What’s more, her son can continue his training, and her niece can return to work. They too have benefited from Joyce’s surgery.

When I think about Joyce and the millions more whose lives have been transformed, I am so thankful for the CBM donors who have made this remarkable milestone possible. Currently, CBM supports about 200 eye hospitals and eye departments worldwide. Because of our intervention—made possible by the generosity of our faithful donors—a blind person can see again every minute. This is truly something to be proud of!

With a gift of $35, you can give the gift of sight to someone with cataracts. Yet beyond surgery, your gift provides so much more. In fact, of the 10 million surgeries we’ve performed through the years, there are millions more whose lives have been dramatically improved.

I hope that you will take a moment now and join us in our continuing efforts to bring sight and renewed life to the millions of people suffering from preventable blindness. Together, we can make a profound difference.

July 2010

Every year, CBM compiles a comprehensive report of achievements from the previous 12 months. This year, as I read through this lengthy document, I could not help but be immensely proud of our work. In light of last year’s recession and financial uncertainty, we were challenged with the seemingly insurmountable task of providing critical services to more than 23.7 million people—a substantial increase from 2008. Yet despite the bad economic times facing our country last year, which resulted in lower income for CBM, we did not have to make the difficult decision to stop funding critical projects in the developing world. This was truly an amazing accomplishment—an accomplishment made possible through the ongoing generous support of investors like you, coupled with a short-term reduction in some of our own key infrastructure expenses, such as not filling open staff positions. Among our many successes in 2009 are:

· +920,000 eye operations were performed.

· +380,000 people received Vitamin A tablets.

· +1.1 million eyeglasses were dispensed.

· +165,000 people were enrolled in empowerment activities including self-help groups

· +64,000 children were enrolled in education programs.

· +675,000 people have had their sight restored through a cataract operation.

· +480,000 received medical treatment for hearing problems.

· +17,000 hearing aids were distributed.

· +96,000 people received support through CBM’s Community Mental Health programs.

· +66,000 people benefited from vocational training and employment programs.

· +2,600 doctors and more than 3,100 nurses/assistants received critical medical training.

· +16,000 teachers learned how to fully include children with disabilities in the classroom.

When we look at these statistics, we must not forget that behind these numbers are real people—men, women, and children who desperately need our help. Children like Hans.

Tucked deep inside the vast slums of northern Lima, Peru, amid endless rows of ramshackle houses, filth and trash, Hans lives with his family. Born with Cerebral Palsy, or CP, a group of chronic conditions affecting body movement, muscle coordination, and often mental capacity, Hans spent most of his days in isolation, lying in a simple plastic tub watching.

Having a child with a disability makes life for families already existing in extreme conditions of poverty even more difficult. With few resources, Hans’ parents did not know what to do to help him. The harsh truth is that people living with disabilities in the poorest countries of the world have little access to rehabilitation and other services. In fact, 98 percent of children with disabilities in the developing world do not attend school. The mortality rate for these children under the age of 5—like Hans—is as high as 80 percent.

Yet in just a short amount of time, Hans’ life has completely transformed. One of CBM’s Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) workers found him and began at-home physical therapy sessions. She enrolled him in a local preschool, and with the assistance of a special chair provided by CBM, Hans now sits upright at the table with the other school children. This child, who could once do little more than lie on the floor, now is considered the brightest in his class.

Hans is one of the more than 23 million people with disabilities annually whose lives have been changed for the better thanks to the generous gifts of CBM supporters. I’d like to ask you to take a few moments to review what we accomplished this year (LINK). Here, you’ll find other inspiring stories and view real evidence of the monumental impact your investment with CBM can make.

 

 

 May 2010

Special Guest Blog from Loretta Dodgen, Chairman of the Board, CBM. In February, Dodgen traveled to CBM project sites in Peru with CBM-US CEO Ron Nabors.

Before I traveled to Peru this past February, I had a heart for CBM and our vital work with the most vulnerable group of people in the world. However, it wasn’t until I visited these projects in person that I truly grasped the profound impact CBM—through donor investments—makes on lives and the breadth of the services we provide. My experience wasn’t just about people with disabilities, however, it was about CBM workers – people who have given their lives to provide support and encouragement to those who are less fortunate. Seeing their commitment and dedication was a life-altering experience for me. I was overwhelmed.

In the slums of Lima, Peru, where hundreds of thousands of families live in crushing poverty, CBM ministers to those with disabilities. In an area without running water, life is unimaginably difficult. Yet for families who have disabled children, life is more than difficult—it’s heartbreaking. Our first stop in Lima was to the home of Maria Jesus. Her father works hard to earn about $46 a week and spends almost 10 percent of his earnings on purchasing safe drinking water for the family. To make their already difficult existence even harder, their young daughter, Maria Jesus, suffers from cerebral palsy low vision, and epilepsy. With barely enough resources to provide food and shelter, Maria Jesus’ parents desperately wanted to help her, but did not know how. They feared Maria Jesus would spend her days in darkness and isolation, refusing physical touch.

However, thanks to intervention from CBM Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) workers, Maria Jesus’ life has been completely transformed. These amazing workers have provided therapy and sensory stimulation for the little girl who now loves to be held and is learning and thriving. What’s more, Maria Jesus’ parents also have found support. Her mother attends a local support group for mothers of children with disabilities and feels more confident in caring for her daughter as a result. I felt so blessed to have spent time with this family. To see this type of transformation first hand was a true testament of CBM’s life-changing work.

In addition to helping the individual, our CBR workers and international staff make an even greater impact by helping to change entire communities. Working hand in hand with local Disabled Persons Organizations (DPOs) as well as local governments, they ensure the full inclusion of people with disabilities into communities and societies. I’m both inspired and proud of the incredible dedication of our CBR workers who often travel miles away from home to serve people with disabilities living in remote communities. At times, they work in situations where their own lives are at risk, yet they go to work every day, and they go joyfully. That’s powerful work that brings about powerful change.

Now, as I lead CBM’s Board of Directors, I have taken some of the resilience and determination that I witnessed in Peru and am using it to help enhance awareness of this important organization so that we can continue to reach those who are most in need. It’s not an easy task. In fact, it’s one that requires a significant amount of determination and prayer. We as Americans are bombarded by images of suffering both within our own country and overseas. I know that these are all important causes. Yet when I’m asked why I choose to spend my time working with an organization that focuses its resources overseas, my answer is simple: in the United States, even the poorest can find access to services needed. But for people with disabilities living in the poorest countries of the world, help is nonexistent. They literally have nowhere else to turn. We have a responsibility as Christians and as citizens of the world not to ignore them. Please join in my quest to help.

November 2009

Much of my life is spent traveling (in a car, in a plane, to meet with someone to discuss CBM and our outreach). Sometimes the simple task of stopping and taking a moment becomes a luxury in a fast-paced life filled to the brim with work and very little play. The holidays—and Thanksgiving in particular—are an opportunity where we get to see family and friends and enjoy some fellowship and moments together. A nice meal together with some familiar dishes provides comfort and familiarity, and yes, even causes us to have to slow down for a few moments.

A couple years ago, I had to slow down for several weeks after undergoing cataract surgery. My eyes sore from surgery, I had to regroup. Among other things, the surgery gave me a first-hand appreciation for what life is like for someone who has cataracts and the quality difference after a surgical intervention. The world opens its arms to you when you can see it….and all your other senses come alive again as well. Food tastes better…you can smell more, hear more, and of course, see more.

Reading about a family whose three children—Gabriel, Daniel and Esther—were born with cataracts and their struggles reminded me of my own brief encounter with the devastation that cataracts can bring.

However, I can’t imagine what it would be like to be born with cataracts and unable to see from birth. The children that Esther and Titus raised required help eating, getting to school and even simple tasks like getting dressed.  They were tormented by other children who teased them for their inability to play soccer. Beaten by elders who thought them disobedient for not picking up things at their command.

Until CBM intervened, these three children had a very bleak future ahead. And without the continuing support from generous donors and compassionate people like you, we wouldn’t be able to fund the eye hospital in Nairobi where this family received their surgery, or any of the hundreds of CBM-supported medical treatment facilities around the world.

As we give thanks during this holiday season for all the blessings we have and are yet to receive, please consider a way to create a real and lasting impact on another individual or family. Give the gift of sight to a child like Gabriel, Daniel or Esther today.