Cataract Chronicles-25 years
As I celebrate my 25th year volunteering as an eye surgeon in Southeast Asia. I am delighted to share photos and stories about the vision challenges and the people and cultures of India, Nepal, Cambodia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Vietnam. - Dr. Gary Barth
Chronicle 25 - There is an urgent need for a Music Program in an in-residence school for blind students
In Nepal, the BBH Eye Foundation supports an in-residence school for fifty blind high school students. These students spend their days learning Braille and hope to matriculate to the local mainstream high school.
BBH funded indoor toilets to replace the outhouses that the blind students had used.
When visiting the school, I noticed that in their Braille classroom, unbeknownst to their sightless eyes, there were many tabla drum sets, harmonium pianos, and guitars up on a high shelf.
When I asked why they were out of reach, I was told that the school couldn’t afford a music teacher program.
I vowed to secure a music teacher to allow both male and female students to hear their fellow students’ musical expressions.
Childhood blindness is often genetic. No cure exists. Giving them music will be an everlasting gift.
