Students at the Şişli Ufuk Koleji answered the call of a campaign run by Kimse Yok Mu and enlisted the help of family and friends to donate. One cataract operation costs $100; the amount collected by the students will restore vision to 100 patients who have lost their vision due to cataracts."We started up this campaign to bring light to the eyes of an estimated 200,000 people in the Darfur region living with cataract problems. The first stage of this project aims to remove cataracts from 6,000 patients' eyes in the first year," Kimse Yok Mu President Mehmet Özkara said.
The importance of Kimse Yok Mu's project in Sudan reverberated with the İstanbul students. Eighth-grade student Fulya Nur Cebeci said she felt great empathy for the young people suffering in Darfur when she first heard about the problem. "I closed my eyes and tried to walk around my home in the darkness. I experienced all the difficulties this would present. They have the right to be able to see, just like everyone else," she said, adding: "I was very upset to hear that there are young people among the patients. While they need to go to school and receive an education, they can't even go outside. I decided to save up my pocket money and help. I also asked my mother, father and relatives to help. We were able to collect enough money to see that many young people in Sudan receive this operation."
Fifth-grade student Nur Sima Taşçı is also very pleased with the results of her and her classmates' efforts. "If my classmates and I were there in Darfur rather than here, maybe we too would have cataracts. That is why I want everyone to support this campaign. I wish all adults in Turkey and students like us donate to this project in Sudan," she said.
Speaking about the students' efforts to assist other young people so far away from Turkey, Ufuk Koleji Director Taşan Deniz said: "It is, of course, wonderful to help people get food and clothing. But I think this time we also need to make more permanent contributions. With this Darfur cataract project, which has brought back sight to 100 children, we are engaging in the greatest help we can." Each cataract removal operation costs $100. To donate to Kimse Yok Mu efforts, visit the association's Web site (www.kimseyokmu.org.tr), credit cards accepted, or send an SMS to 5777, write "KATARAKT," on Avea or Vodafone cell phones, and YTL 5 will be donated to Kimse Yok Mu on your behalf.
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