Seiuli, a retired engineer and former amateur boxer with bilateral cataracts, regained his sight through surgery, enabling him to resume teaching, coaching tennis, and writing.
At 73, Seiuli has lived a full and active life — teaching engineering, raising nine children and competing in tennis across the Pacific. But when cataracts began to affect his sight, everyday life became difficult.
After receiving cataract surgery, Seiuli can see clearly again and return to the things he loves most.
Seiuli’s journey in education began more than fifty years ago. In 1972, he travelled from Samoa to New Zealand to study engineering at the University of Auckland through a New Zealand Government scholarship programme.
When he finished his studies, Seiuli returned home to Samoa where he began teaching engineering at the Polytechnic in Apia. Today, he still works there part-time.
Along the way he built a busy and fulfilling life with his wife and their nine children.
But a few years ago, Seiuli’s life began to change when his eyesight started to deteriorate.
Seiuli developed cataracts in both eyes. At first his vision was blurry, but it steadily worsened.
“Before I took the surgery, I was bumping into things. Really bad,” he says.
Daily activities became difficult. Seiuli enjoyed doing construction work and making improvements to his home, but poor eyesight made it dangerous.
“I would never escape having at least four hammer blows on my thumb,” he laughs. “Always, always.”
Reading also became a challenge. At one stage he borrowed his father’s glasses and began reading with one eye closed, trying to see the words clearly. But eventually even that stopped working.
“I studied a lot. One day, everything went black.”
As a younger man he was an amateur boxer and an accomplished tennis player, even competing in the South Pacific Games. But as his eyesight worsened, he could no longer play.
“It was a concern to me when things started to become blurry. I couldn’t play tennis anymore. I thought, what now?”
He also had to give up fishing, another favourite pastime.
“I love fishing,” he says proudly. “I once caught quite a big shark.”
Without clear vision, even spending time on the water became difficult.
“I felt defeated,” Seiuli says. “It was one of the low points of my life.”
When Seiuli first sought help several years ago, there was only one permanent eye doctor in the country, Dr Lucilla Ah Ching-Sefo, who leads eye services at the Tupua Tamasese Meaole Hospital in Apia.
“In those days, it was chocka-block,” he says. “Lots and lots of patients. Dr Lucilla was the only doctor.”
Cataract is one of the leading causes of blindness in the Pacific, and demand for surgery often exceeds the available services. This is why we work with the Samoa Ministry of Health to strengthen eye care services by training eye care professionals and supporting local teams to deliver more treatment.
In the years since his first cataract surgery, a second eye doctor has joined the team, and another is currently in training. By building the local the local eye care workforce, we are helping to reduce waiting lists and ensures more people can access the care they need.
Seiuli has noticed the difference.
“Now, I don’t see as many people,” he says. “The support staff are much more numerous now.”’
Recently, Seiuli returned to Tupua Tamasese Meaole Hospital for his second cataract surgery on his right eye. When the bandage came off, Seiuli was amazed.
“I told my wife she was the most beautiful thing ever,” he laughs. “She laughed her head off at me.”
Now, with his sight restored, Seiuli is looking forward to continuing his work, spending time with his family and enjoying the activities he loves.
It’s a powerful reminder that restoring sight doesn’t just improve vision — it helps transform lives.
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