How ARO Combats the Two Crises of Water Scarcity and Vision Loss

Around the world, two silent emergencies continue to threaten the lives of millions: water scarcity and preventable vision loss due to cataracts. While these issues may seem unrelated on the surface, both are deeply rooted in poverty, lack of access to healthcare and infrastructure, and global inequality. They both steal people’s dignity, limit their potential, and disproportionately affect vulnerable communities particularly women, children, and the elderly.

At the Australian Relief Organisation (ARO), we are taking a holistic, people-centered approach to address both crises simultaneously. By improving access to clean water and restoring sight through cataract surgeries, ARO empowers families to live healthier, more productive lives.

The Global Clean Water Crisis

According to the World Health Organization, over 2 billion people lack access to safely managed drinking water. For many, clean water is a daily struggle—forcing women and children to walk for hours just to collect water from potentially contaminated sources. Unsafe water contributes to a host of health issues, including diarrheal diseases, parasitic infections, and even blindness.

Contaminated water also plays a role in increasing the risk of eye infections and preventable vision loss. Inadequate hygiene and poor sanitation make it difficult to prevent or manage eye diseases in many low-income regions.

Providing clean water is more than just ensuring hydration. It’s about improving sanitation, preventing disease, reducing child mortality, and giving communities the tools they need to thrive.

Cataracts: The Leading Cause of Blindness

Cataracts are responsible for over 50% of blindness cases worldwide, according to the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness. The condition is caused by the clouding of the eye's natural lens, leading to blurred vision, light sensitivity, and eventually, complete loss of sight.

While cataracts are easily treatable through a safe, low-cost surgical procedure, millions of people, especially in developing nations, remain blind simply because they can’t afford or access treatment. Many live in remote areas without eye care services. Others are unaware that their condition is even treatable.

This form of preventable blindness is especially devastating in poor communities, where vision is directly tied to livelihood, education, and social participation.

ARO’s Dual-Focus Humanitarian Model

What makes ARO unique is our commitment to addressing both the water crisis and cataract-related blindness as part of a larger, integrated mission of human dignity and sustainable development. Here’s how:

1. Clean Water Projects

ARO works closely with local partners to identify communities in urgent need of safe water. Our initiatives include:

• Boreholes and deep wells: Engineered to access clean underground water sources
  
  
• Water filtration systems: Providing safe, purified water for drinking and hygiene
  
  
• Rainwater harvesting units: Capturing and storing water during rainy seasons
  
  
• Sanitation education: Teaching basic hygiene practices to prevent waterborne illnesses
  
  

These efforts help reduce disease, ease the daily burden on women and children, and promote school attendance and work productivity.

2. Cataract Treatment Programs

In parallel, ARO delivers free cataract surgeries to underserved populations through:

• Mobile eye clinics and vision screening camps
  
  
• Transportation for rural patients
  
  
• Partnerships with local hospitals and surgeons
  
  
• Post-operative care and education
  
  

For as little as $50 USD, a cataract patient’s vision can be restored, allowing them to work, care for their families, and rejoin community life. Cataract treatment gives people back their autonomy and reduces the burden on caregivers, often young children or spouses.

The Ripple Effect: Clean Water + Clear Vision

When people gain access to clean water and restored vision, the transformation is profound:

• Health improves: With safe water and sight, people avoid disease and maintain better hygiene.
  
  
• Education increases: Children are no longer needed to fetch water or care for blind relatives. They go back to school.
  
  
• Economic opportunity rises: Restored vision and saved hours from water collection mean more time for work and productivity.
  
  
• Women are empowered: With safe water nearby and cataract treatment for elderly relatives, women gain time and freedom to pursue jobs and education.
  
  

These two basic needs—clean water and sight—are foundational to breaking the cycle of poverty and fostering long-term development.

Real Stories of Change

In rural Ethiopia, ARO installed a solar-powered borehole in a drought-prone village where families previously walked hours for water. Simultaneously, we identified several elderly women who had gone blind from untreated cataracts. Within weeks, both clean water access and cataract surgeries were delivered.

One of those women, Amina, had been blind for three years and unable to help care for her grandchildren. After her surgery, she saw her youngest granddaughter for the first time and returned to cooking and weaving—skills she thought she’d never use again.

Her granddaughter, previously pulled from school to help her, is now back in class.

These are not just individual success stories, they are stories of multi-generational impact.

You can help solve both crises

The good news is that solutions exist, and they’re within reach. Whether you’re an individual donor, corporate partner, or simply someone who believes in human dignity, you can play a crucial role in helping ARO deliver:

• Clean water to communities who desperately need it
  
  
• Cataract surgeries that restore vision and hope
  
  

Here’s how you can help:

• Donate: Just $50 restores one person’s sight.
  
  
• Sponsor a water well: A borehole can serve hundreds for years to come.
  
  
• Share our mission: Spread the word and raise awareness of these silent emergencies.
  
  
• Fundraise: Organize a community event or digital fundraiser to support ARO’s efforts.
  
  

Water and vision are fundamental human rights. Yet millions still live without them—due not to a lack of technology or medical knowledge, but due to injustice and inequality. At ARO, we’re bridging that gap by combining clean water access and cataract care into one holistic mission for change.

When you give to ARO, you’re not just restoring sight or installing a well you’re changing lives.

Be part of the solution.
Donate today. Share hope. Restore dignity.