For the livelihood it brings to sustain his family, Carael in Dagupan, Pangasinan is the “river of life” for 62-year-old fisherman Rafael de Vera. The 20 years he spent fishing and picking oysters there using a small banca enabled him to raise his three children with wife Salvacion, who helped him sell his catch in the market. He worked despite a paralyzed left leg which he failed to consult with a doctor for lack of money.

A cataract that blinded him in 2022 finally stopped him from earning a living. His wife took over his role selling other fishermen’s catch. She brought her husband to a doctor to fix his impaired vision but the P60,000 to P70,000 cost was impossible to raise.

There is light at the end of the tunnel, as the saying goes. The charity organization Tzu Chi Medical Foundation Philippines (TCMFP) conducted a medical mission in Dagupan City in late 2022 and De Vera was among those assisted. On 28 November 2022, Rafael was among the residents brought to the Tzu Chi Eye Center (TCEC) in Manila, in a wheel chair, for a cataract removal surgery.

After the successful operation, De Vera can’t forget the next scene.

His surgeon and TCMFP president, Dr. Antonio Say, was standing in front of him and waving at him.

“Since I could see him, I waved back. I was so happy that my eyesight suddenly became clear!” De Vera recalled, according to Medium.

“Now that his eyesight has returned, he can work, and that means I could go and sell oysters in town again. Our lives really improved and our burdens eased!” Salvacion said.

Thanks to Say, TCMFP and the TCEC, De Vera is back rowing in the “river of life,” supporting his family.