Mr. Benjamin's Family — Eye Surgery

The Emergency: A Family in Double Crisis

In a remote, underserved village in Gopalganj, the family of Mr. Benjamin—a local pastor—faced a double medical catastrophe that pushed them to the absolute brink. Mr. Benjamin, a man dedicated to serving his community, earned a meager monthly income of just 9,000 BDT. With this small salary, he supported his wife, who had been bedridden since 2022 following a severe, disabling stroke, and his young, healthy daughter.

Their lives were turned upside down on August 5, 2024, when his daughter suffered a catastrophic accident that resulted in severe retinal damage, leaving her completely blind in both eyes. Having just completed her Bachelor of Arts degree, she was at the threshold of a promising future, which was suddenly plunged into darkness.

The Medical Struggle in Remote Gopalganj

With no local advanced healthcare facilities, the family scrambled to find treatment. They initially traveled to Khulna, exhausting their small life savings, only to be referred to the National Institute of Ophthalmology in Dhaka. Mr. Benjamin sold their few possessions to pay for travel and accommodation in the capital. The daughter underwent two complex retinal surgeries, both of which unfortunately failed to restore her sight. A third surgery was desperately planned, but the family had no funds left to afford the surgical costs or the critical post-operative medications. At the same time, Mrs. Benjamin's stroke recovery was halting, and she required daily life-saving stroke medication.

The Verification & Immediate Response

The urgency of this case required rapid, transparent field verification. We Do Charity team member Anan personally traveled to the remote Gopalganj village on October 8, accompanied by local pastor Royal Modhu. They visited the family's modest home, verified their financial records, and witnessed the severe hardships they were facing firsthand. The fundraiser was officially launched on October 10, 2024, with the target of raising funds for the critical third surgery and ongoing stroke medications.

A Crucial Pivot in Our Foundation's Policy

This initiative represents a historical landmark for We Do Charity. It was the earliest and most complex medical case WDC ever undertook. Managing medical fundraising highlighted massive systemic challenges: verifying medical diagnoses in remote clinics, navigating unstable surgery outcomes, and managing high-stakes expectations. This project directly influenced our landmark policy change in January 2026, where We Do Charity officially announced we would **no longer accept medical/health fundraising cases** to maintain operational focus and protect donor funds from high-risk medical outcomes. Instead, we shifted our focus entirely to sustainable community aid and education.

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