Athletes increase visibility for blind
by Doris Fleck

Two world-class, Calgary-based athletes are adding visibility to the plight of people who suffer from preventable blindness.

Ultra-marathon runner Norma Bastidas and Olympic bobsleigh contender Heather Moyse, spoke about their involvement with Operation Eyesight Universal at the See the Future event on May 7 at Calgary’s Nickel Arts Museum.

Founded in Calgary in 1963, the faith-based charity focuses on treating and preventing blindness in developing countries where 90 per cent of all blind people live. Since their inception, they have restored sight or prevented blindness in over 35 million people.

Norma Bastidas has decided to go to the ends of the earth to create hope for the blind and visually impaired. This year she has already run grueling races of 100 kilometers or more through the forests of Brazil, the ice of the Antarctic and the mountains of Australia.

The 41 year-old single mom faced the devastating effects of sight loss when one of her two sons, Karl, was diagnosed with Cone Rod Dystrophy three years ago. This unpredictable disease with no cure may result in Karl, now 14, losing his sight completely.

As Bastidas struggled to cope with this diagnosis she was "shocked" when she found out that nine out of 10 people in Asia and Africa don’t have access to proper eye care which could have prevented their blindness.

When Bastidas saw the courage of her own son who said he was not going to complain but rather choose to "have a great life," she responded, "He is inspiring me. I wanted to do something about it."

Choosing to run ultra-marathons over some of the most unforgiving terrains in the world, Bastidas is out to make history. She developed the 777 Run for Sight challenge and is now at the halfway mark in her bid to be the first person to finish seven ultra-marathons on seven separate continents in seven months. Only one person has completed these races but did it in a year.

A devout Catholic, Bastidas has already raised $20,000 for Operation Eyesight and two other charities that aid the blind. She hopes to up this amount to $100,000 by the end of her races in August.

Heather Moyse has recently partnered with Operation Eyesight.

"Being an Olympian is important because it opens up these opportunities to give a little more weight to my name or my voice behind what I want to change in the world," the 30-year-old said.

A dual athlete, Moyce is training in Calgary for the 2010 Olympics. She and pilot Helen Upperton finished fourth in the 2006 Olympics in Turin, Italy. But Moyse has also represented Canada in 15 international rugby matches.

Moyse was amazed to learn that for a donation of just $30 to Operation Eyesight, a blind person can have cataract surgery which, "restores a person’s sight overnight…Whole families are positively impacted by that change."

Pat Ferguson, President and CEO of Operation Eyesight said, "These two incredible athletes will help draw attention to this growing problem and will help our medical partners in Africa and south Asia to save the eyesight of many more people."

Operation Eyesight’s world headquarters remain in Calgary with various branch offices in Canada, the United States, Australia and India. More information can be found at www.operationeyesight.ca.