Give the gift of sight: Hamdia's Story

In Ethiopia, where 12-month-old Hamdia lives, it’s estimated that 40% of children under the age of nine have an active trachoma infection.

Trachoma is a bacterial disease that often begins in childhood. It eventually leads to trichiasis, a blinding condition where the eyelashes curl inwards and mercilessly scratch the eye with every blink.

But trachoma can be treated and prevented with an annual dose of antibiotics. Through our mass drug administration programs, we reach millions of children and families every year in communities hardest hit by trachoma – children like Hamdia.

Hamdia lives with her family in a rural district in southern Ethiopia. Her father, Shemsedin, provides for the family by working as a farmer. He also takes care of Hamdia by making sure she receives yearly doses of antibiotics to combat trachoma.

Shemsedin learned about the importance of that annual regimen through Orbis-supported public education programs. These campaigns and Orbis’s annual mass drug administration projects have helped virtually eliminate trachoma in 24 districts throughout southern Ethiopia.

Around the world, Orbis’s sight-saving programs allow parents like Shemsedin to secure their children’s healthy vision and brighter futures. Because of ongoing support and the annual doses of antibiotics, Hamdia will never have to suffer the agony of trachoma like so many generations of little girls before her.