I have been a long-standing supporter of LRBT UK (formerly GLT) and find this cause close to my heart, as sight is one of the greatest blessings of Allah. It deeply saddens me to see how these innocent children are losing their childhood and not being given a full chance at life. Imagine being a child, unable to play, read, or even recognize the faces of your loved ones. Simple joys become daily struggles.

No child deserves to be blind , just because their family cannot afford treatment. But for millions of children in Pakistan, preventable blindness is depriving them of a future. Children with vision loss are 2-5 times more likely to be excluded from school.

This Ramadan, your Zakat can be used to sponsor eye surgery at LRBT, giving a child back their sight, independence and future.

65% of our patients are eligible for Zakat, and for the cost of a two-course meal, you can change a child’s life forever. 

What we’ve done

With 40 years of unwavering dedication, Layton Rahmatulla Benevolent Trust UK (LRBT UK) has been a beacon of hope, operating 20 hospitals  and 61 eye clinics in Pakistan.

Healthcare has come a long way, and something as debilitating as cataracts or glaucoma, which affects one in ten Pakistanis can be treated in less than half an hour.

We have already transformed the lives of over 58 million patients, performing an average of 1000 surgeries every single day. Through this hard work we’re proud to say we've halved the cases of blindness in Pakistan.

Amina's story

Amina’s parent noticed their bright and cheerful 8 year old was becoming more and more withdrawn. Playing less often with her brother and taking longer and longer to do her homework. While out shopping with her family, Amina asked her mother to describe the design of a new dress. She admitted that she could only make out the vague colour but not the detail; everything was a blur. It was a heartbreaking moment of realisation that her daughter could not see properly. The family lived on Asghar’s modest salary as a mechanic in Rawalpindi and today was a special day to treat Amina and her brother to new Eid clothes.

 Asghar’s father died a year earlier and had suffered with sight loss from uncontrolled diabetes. His passing was a huge loss but the family could not afford the diabetes monitoring that was required to manage his condition. Dark thoughts entered Asghar’s mind as he struggled to comprehend how he would be able to afford treatment for his beloved daughter.

That evening, before Iftar, an advert on television appealed for Zakat for LRBT, Pakistan’s largest provider of FREE eye care for the poor. Seeing a lifeline, the next morning Asghar took his daughter to the local hospital in Mandra and was told that Amina had developed cataracts in both eyes, hence her significant sight loss. Amina was assessed and an operation was performed on one eye the same afternoon. After she had completely recovered, she had surgery on her other eye. Asghar says “as long as I live, I shall pray for the kind souls who helped us and who saved my daughter from total blindness. May Allah always shower them in His mercy”.

About Layton Rahmatulla Benevolent Trust UK (LRBT UK):

Layton Rahmatulla Benevolent Trust UK (LRBT UK) is a UK-based eye charity, actively raising funds for the Layton Rahmatulla Benevolent Trust (LRBT) in Pakistan. LRBT is the largest non-governmental organization in Pakistan, dedicated to provide free eye care services to the underprivileged. 

Learn more: lrbt.org.uk