“Can’t you really see me, Grandma?”
After Delphine lost her sight, her three-year-old grandson often asked her the question.
When they walked together, he would gently take her hand and guide her forward. At mealtimes, her daughter, Noronette, carefully placed food in front of her and removed fish bones before she could eat.
“There are things I used to do that I can no longer do, such as working in the fields and tending to my livestock on the farm,” Delphine said. “I can no longer interact with the community either. Now, all I do is sit at home.”
What began as blurred vision in early 2025 gradually worsened until cataracts left the 69-year-old completely blind by December that year.
For Delphine’s family in Maroantsetra, a remote coastal town in northeastern Madagascar, the loss reshaped daily life.
Delphine and her daughter once worked side by side in the fields. While Noronette worked, Delphine cared for her three grandchildren. As her blindness progressed, the responsibilities slowly shifted onto her daughter’s shoulders.
In early 2026, a radio announcement changed everything for Delphine: Mercy Ships was returning to Madagascar for another field service.
The return of the Africa Mercy® marks Mercy Ships’ third consecutive year serving in the country and the sixth time Mercy Ships has visited the island nation since 1996. Alongside providing free surgeries, Mercy Ships continues to partner with the Malagasy government, local hospitals, and academic institutions to strengthen surgical and aneasthetic care in the country through healthcare training and education programs.
For 10 weeks leading up to the start of the 2026 field service, Mercy Ships teams traveled across Madagascar for 10 weeks, meeting patients in communities around the country and identifying those in need of free surgical care.
Delphine became the very first surgical patient to board the Africa Mercy.
“It is a true honour to have our Ophthalmic patients be the very first ones to receive surgery this year,” said Ashleigh Wong, Ophthalmic Team Manager.
Delphine’s surgery lasted around 30 minutes. The next day, she returned to have her eye patch removed.
As Delphine stood up after the patch was removed, Noronette instinctively reached out her arm to guide her mother, just as she had done for months. But Delphine laughed and gently pushed her daughter’s hand away, joking that she did not need help anymore because she could see again.
“I’m really happy,” Noronette said afterward. “Things are going to change in my life, now my mum can take care of my children again, and we can work again together.”
For the first time after losing her sight, Delphine could once again clearly see the faces of the people she loved.
“Witnessing her being able to see for the first time in many months, and see her daughter’s face again after so long, is the reason why we do what we do,” Ashleigh said.
Now, Delphine is looking forward to returning to the parts of life she missed most.
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