I See You… Miracles Day through the Eyes of Radio Listener Lyn Wake
By: Lyn Wake
Like many Australians, I have always loved travelling, and experiencing the unique sights, sounds and flavours that accompany exploring a new country.
But travelling with a purpose – travelling with a positive mission and a desire to make a meaningful impact – is something altogether different. It is something that motivates and inspires me in equal measures.
My ministry trip to Nepal, as an ambassador for CBM, was filled with purpose.
I was privileged to witness the work of CBM in performing sight-saving Miracles first-hand. My story, and the stories of some of the beautiful people and families I met, has been captured in a new three part documentary I See You which screens on ACCTV from Monday August 12.
Sight is something that many of us in a wealthy country like Australia take for granted.
If we do have problems with our eyes or vision, such as cataracts, we have access to public health care, treatment and hospitals.
In a country like Nepal, where sadly almost half of the population lives under the poverty line, the cost of eye care can be prohibitive.
That’s where Christian radio’s partnership with CBM for Miracles Day changes lives.
Australians are given the opportunity to give someone the Miracle gift of sight.
CBM has worked in Nepal since 1982. An eye care service that started in a hut with one doctor is now the Biratangar Eye Hospital, one of the major eye care institutions in the world.
I was fortunate to meet with Hospital Director Dr Sanjay Singh, who told me of the enormous demand for eye care services in the region. Each day, the hospital performs approximately 1,000 eye examinations and 200 eye surgeries.
Dr Singh told me some powerful stories about patients he had worked with, such as a pregnant woman who was blind from cataracts. One month after she gave birth, she received the Miracle of sight-saving surgery and was able to see her baby for the first time.
I also met with a beautiful 11 year old boy, Yangsang, and his mother Sabitra in a rural farming area of Nepal.
In many ways, Yangsang was just like any other young boy. He loved spending time with his family, playing sport and he had a smile that could light up a room.
But his vision was deteriorating due to cataracts and he was finding it hard to read things on the blackboard in class. His condition was impacting his education.
Yangsang, as well as Sabitra and his cousin Kumari, were all able to receive life-changing surgery thanks to the generosity of CBM and its supporters. Yangsang can now excel in the classroom, and Sabitra knows her son has an opportunity to follow his dreams as he gets older.
These stories are shown in I See You – an ACCTV documentary that has a deep heartfelt meaning to me.
My beautiful daughter Bethany went to her Heavenly Home at age 15 in 2011 after a short battle with brain cancer. I can personally relate to the struggles that come with the loss of sight as I saw my daughter experience the same thing.
Bethany dreamed of becoming a nurse and helping people in need around the world.
Through my experiences with CBM, I am supporting Bethany’s legacy of faith, love and hope.
This Miracles Day, 15 August, CBM is partnering with 33 Christian radio stations across Australia for the seventh year. Australians have the opportunity to change lives by giving someone the Miracle gift of sight.
Visit www.cbm.org.au/miraclesday to find out more.
You can witness the fruit of this partnership by watching I See You on the ACCTV channel on Foxtel on August 13, 14 and 15. All three 30 minute episodes will go live on the ACCTV Watch Now platform on August 11 – simply download the app to watch.
Article supplied by: CBM
About the author: Lyn Wake is a mum of four children, one of whom is already in heaven. Lyn’s partnership with CBM was inspired by her daughter Bethany’s calling to work with the poorest of the poor, before she passed away at age 15.
