Lisa’s glasses

Lisa’s glasses

Picture a little girl. A girl with curly hair — sweet, curious, funny, always in good spirits. She likes to laugh and sing, and her beaming face enchants many people.

That, or something like it, or perhaps quite differently, is how Lisa may have looked. We do not know. We only know that she grew up in a family and had a grandmother.

To give Lisa a treat, her parents planned a family outing one day. It was a beautiful day, and everyone was looking forward to a few good hours together. Nobody remembers today where they were going — but many know her sad fate. What was to be a lovely outing ended in a terrible accident. Lisa and her parents lost their lives.

Lisa’s grandmother lost her whole family at a stroke, including her beloved little granddaughter. The tragedy happened more than twenty years ago, and it still moves people in her home village in the Saarland.

For years the grandmother clung to the personal belongings of her lost family, hoping to bear the loss. One by one she parted with them — but the deep pain remained. After twenty years only Lisa’s small, colourful children’s glasses were left, the glasses she had worn on the day of the accident. Her grandmother kept them like the greatest treasure in the world.

Despite her grief the woman grew very old, and now she wishes to find peace. Her last wish is to make a child in Africa happy with Lisa’s little glasses.

Through our long and trusting cooperation with Brillen ohne Grenzen, the small colourful pair — together with the grandmother’s account — finally reached us at Apwoyo e. V.

The story of Lisa and her grandmother moved us deeply. In Uganda there are many children who urgently need glasses and whose parents cannot afford them. The people at Brillen ohne Grenzen cleaned, disinfected and repaired Lisa’s glasses and determined their strength.

We will gladly fulfil the grandmother’s heartfelt wish.