Fatima Amidi is all smiles again as she can now see again.
76-year old Fatima Amidi speaks animatedly of her love for sewing and how many outfits she looks forward to making as soon as she finds the perfect fabric. Given the exceptional detail with which she describes the designing, cutting and stitching process, you would never say that until a few days ago, Fatima was completely blind.
But thanks to the generosity of friends like you, Fatima can now see and is looking forward to living a full life again.
Fatima spent about 20 years of her life as a madressa teacher in Kliptown, and still freely gives of her time to the community. But in 2008, all of this started to change as her eyesight began deteriorating.
Fatima’s vision began clouding and repeated trips to local eye care specialists who work for government clinics kept putting her through the screening process, despite having already identified her cataracts. Fatima did not know where else to go to so kept visiting the clinic for checkups, while being kept on a waiting list.
With a backlog on State hospital waiting lists of more than 2 years for a simple, 30 minute cataract removal operation, Fatima was one of nearly half a million South Africans who cannot see due to cataract blindness.
Fatima became totally blind while waiting for adequate eye care.
Fatima speaks with utmost conviction and faith as she says, “Somehow Allah chose for me to go blind, so I kept praying that He could give me a cure”.
Allah did cure her blindness when a friend of Sultan Bahu Centre’s, just like you, attended a gathering in Kliptown and saw Fatima trip and fall. He rushed to help her and Fatima said that she could not see. The very next day, he returned to Kliptown, fetched Fatima and brought her to Sultan Bahu Centre.
We immediately booked her in at the first available slot with a reputable ophthalmologist who confirmed that Fatima had cataracts. Within days, the doctor had scheduled an appointment to operate on Fatima.
Because of your kind support, and opening your hearts to people like Fatima, she can now see again.
Fatima cannot stop laughing as she tries to describe the joy of being able to see again which she firmly believes is a miracle. Fatima’s gratitude cannot be expressed and she says, “People who give from love in their hearts do not know how they open up people’s lives. Without eyesight I was nothing and I thought I was going to live the rest of my life, blind.”
“Please open your hearts and give your zakaat and lillah to Sultan Bahu Centre, because they opened their heart and gave me back my life”, says Fatima.
“I used to love reading the Quraan and as I went blind I used to cry and beg for my eyesight back just to read a bit more. Because I couldn’t see I used to hold my quraan and touch the pages, but this Ramadan, Sultan Bahu Centre has given me the best gift – I can read quraan again! And everyone who gave money to Sultan Bahu Centre to give me my eyesight back is in my duas”.
To be blessed with gratitude from Fatima, and many others just like here, please click here right now to generously support our cataract project – and give back the gift of sight to someone today.
