Khalid used to struggle to see clearly and suffer with headaches. Now, he is the Head Pharmacist for IAM’s National Organisation for Ophthalmic Rehabilitation (NOOR), helping other people with poor eyesight across Afghanistan. Find out how NOOR helped change Khalid’s life and why he is passionate about providing good eye care in his home country.
Khalid at 18, wearing glasses for the first time
I was born into a poor family with a low income. When I was 18 years old, I went to university and I was having trouble seeing long distances. I would try to sit in the first line of class to see the blackboard, and I would always have a headache. My classmates advised me to go for an eye check at the Darulaman NOOR eye hospital.
After my eye examination at the NOOR hospital, the specialist advised me to always wear glasses. I put on my new numerical glasses and my trouble seeing and my headache disappeared.
“I put on my new numerical glasses and my trouble seeing and my headache disappeared”
By wearing glasses and seeing well I was able to pay more attention to my lessons, and after passing the first exam I got third place out of 125 students in the first class of university. This was exciting, as it was the first achievement in my life. From that point started my step by step progress in life. I graduated in third place from my university. I went outside Afghanistan for three years and I learned a lot from foreigners. After that, I worked in many national and international NGOs and with the Government in Afghanistan.
Now, I am 48 years old and I am working with IAM’s NOOR eye care project. I know my great responsibility towards the Afghan people. Without healthy eyes, we can’t learn, we can’t work, we can’t help each other, and we can’t fight against poverty.
I have four children and I got their eyesight checked before sending them to school. Each year, they get first score certificates in their classes. Therefore, I advise all Afghan families to check their children’s eyesight before sending them to school. And to keep their eyes healthy, they must eat low-priced food with high vitamins, like clean vegetables to prevent vitamin deficiency.
Thank you for your reading my history. I am wishing for all of you healthy and powerful eyesight.
Millions of Afghans have benefitted from IAM’s eye care work over the last 50+ years. Find out more about our eye care work here, and check out this infographic for a breakdown of how it works.