RESTORING HOPE
DR. ALI HAIDER
Restoring Hope
Nonprofit provides sight and more to Third World countries
BY LAURA ROSS | PHOTOS BY CHRISTIAN WATSON AND COURTESY OF DR. ALI HAIDER
Dr. Ali Haider’s eyes were opened wide as
a young medical resident. While performing
marathon volunteer eye surgeries in a primitive
camp in Pakistan several years ago, he watched
yet another family enter the rudimentary facility.
hand and – this time – led her home, both laughing
with joy.
A little girl, maybe no more than 10 years old,
gently led her grandfather who was blind in both
eyes into the clinic. She had spent most of her
young years leading her grandfather through
life – in essence, acting as his eyes. He relied
completely on the small child, and she lovingly
cared for him. Sitting in his comfortable office, now, years
later, that moment is still fresh. “I knew I had to
continue doing this,” said Haider. “It’s extremely
gratifying and the thanks these patients and their
families offer is tremendous and completely affects
you. Yes, it’s selfless work, but it’s also selfish to
a degree, because it becomes an addiction to
helping others have sight. You give from your
skill, and in moments, you change someone’s
life completely.”
Haider, an ophthalmologist and surgeon,
performed cataract surgery on the man and
restored his sight. The next day, when the
grandfather left, he held his granddaughter’s He took that inspiration and founded a
nonprofit, World Sight, that provides eye surgery
to blind patients in Third World countries for an
amazing average cost of around $25.
Haider, 41, who has offices in Southern Indiana
– including Madison – and Louisville, was born
in Pakistan and lived there and in Swaziland
(also known as eSwatini), until he moved to the
United States as a teen with his family. His father
was the only physician in their area in Pakistan.
He often treated patients for free, never expecting
anything in return.
“My father helped underserved communities
in Pakistan and other parts of the world,” said
Haider. “He was everything, from a surgeon to
a gynecologist, internist, and family doctor. He
was trained as an internist, not a surgeon, but
sometimes he’d put a textbook on the table and
start operating in the office. That is tremendous
when you think about it. We take so much for
granted here in the United States.”
EXTOL : DECEMBER 2018/JANUARY 2019
31