World Sight Day 2024: Buyandeleger can see again

But not every child gets the chance to have one, especially in rural Mongolia where adorable five-year-old Buyandeleger lives.

When Buyandeleger was born, her mom Munkhsaikhan noticed something wasn’t quite right with her eyes. But their hospital, 500 kilometers or so away from the bustling capital of Ulaanbaatar where most eye health services are concentrated, didn’t offer eye screenings for newborns and she wasn’t sure how to access specialist care.

Munkhsaikhan feared the worst—believing that giving birth to her only child at 40 had caused serious issues during her pregnancy and that physical therapy would be the only treatment she could access.

However, her fears were unfounded and the answer to her daughter’s problems would turn out to be just around the corner—all thanks to the Orbis community.

When Buyandeleger was three, a colleague of her mom, a fellow schoolteacher, spotted her daughter’s eye problem and recommended they visit eye care services in the capital and get checked out.

The moment was a sudden ray of hope for Munkhsaikhan and she felt relieved that her deepest fears, that her daughter’s problems were related to a brain injury suffered during pregnancy, may not be true.

The pair traveled the long journey to the big city by bus to meet with our longtime collaborator, Dr. Battsetseg, at the Mother and Child Hospital. Buyandeleger was diagnosed with a congenital cataract (clouding of the lens) in her right eye, and the family was given some promising news – the Orbis Flying Eye Hospital would be arriving in Mongolia shortly.

Munkhsaikhan told us: “Honestly, I was a little bit worried when we first traveled to the city. We did see Dr. Battsetseg and were told at the time of checkup that Buyandeleger was born with this condition, that it was a very complicated condition, and it was uncertain whether it was fixable. She told us that foreign doctors with Orbis were soon coming to Ulaanbaatar to see patients and do surgery.”

Image gallery: Buyandeleger's journey to healthy vision

When the Flying Eye Hospital landed in Mongolia for an ophthalmic training project, Buyandeleger was one of the many pediatric patients screened, and her cataract was removed by the amazing Dr. Divya Natarajan, Orbis Volunteer Faculty, from our partner LV Prasad Eye Institute in Hyderabad, India.

Her sight-restoring surgery was also a valuable learning opportunity for local Mongolian ophthalmologists who were able to take away new skills and knowledge while observing and assisting with the operation.

Now, Buyandaleger no longer needs to keep one eye closed to see better when she draws and paints or focus on things that are far away. She can see the world clearly and read and write with ease. In fact, she is affectionately known by her family as “Buyka,” which translates as “doing good.” And with brighter sight, she will certainly be able to live up to her nickname!

We’d like to say a big thank you to everyone involved in giving Buyandeleger, a budding artist, the quality sight-saving care she needed to thrive. From her eye care specialist, Dr. Battsetseg, to the Orbis Volunteer Faculty who delivered her surgery while training Mongolian ophthalmologists, right through to you, our incredible supporters—we'd like to say a huge thank you to everyone involved in this girl's care.

“As a teacher of young children and a mother who has gone through this experience with my own daughter, I now see the importance of early eye checkups for babies in Mongolia. As a teacher, I can’t stress it enough for parents to get their children screened as early as possible,” says Buyandaleger’s mom.

So, for this World Sight Day, we are calling on parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and caregivers of all sorts to book an eye test for a child you love— and donate to Orbis to help ensure another child like Buyandeleger can receive the eye care they deserve.