Sahara had to give up her eyes to live!

We recently met a delightful family from the North West province, unfortunately under less than happy circumstances. Erna, Pieter and Sahara, their little 3 year old daughter, visited our Resource Centre to see if there are any toys to keep Sahara busy.

Sahara had Retinoblastoma, a cancer of the eyes which occurs in young children, affecting one in every 15,000 to 30,000 babies. The most common form of treatment for retinoblastoma is to surgically remove the affected eye or eyes to prevent the cancer form spreading.

Unfortunately Sahara had to have both her eyes removed to save her life, as chemotherapy was not successful.

This lovely, energetic little girl won the hearts of everyone at our offices. She was showing our National Executive Director, Jace Nair, how to sort the different shaped pieces into the bucket. She also walked around the Resource Centre with a ‘training wheel’ and soon figured out where everything is. She went playing outside with some of the staff and enjoyed hearing the wild ducks and little ducklings calling out to each other – practising to localise different sounds. She was smelling the newly planted roses and exploring the textures of different leaves before returning inside to play with her toy guide dog.

Because of the support of our friends over the years, we are able to give this lovely little girl and her family the assistance and guidance to prosper.

Together we make a difference in the lives of blind children!

If you are interested in knowing more about Retinoblastoma, visit the Retinoblastoma website.