Eyes on the market: how Regina regained her sight and her livelihood

For more than thirty years, Regina Pérez-now 57-has been a dedicated worker at Mercado 4 market in Asunción. She started walking its aisles as a child, hand in hand with her mother, learning how to select vegetables, negotiate prices, and warmly serve each customer. Market 4, one of Paraguay's largest and most traditional markets or shopping centres, is a vibrant network of stalls, galleries, and early mornings: it is a meeting place for producers, artisans, merchants, and families who find their daily livelihood in this ecosystem. In this context, Regina developed a professional and community identity that has stayed with her throughout her life. She lives in the city of Luque, alone with her mother, who is over 90 years old, and her work is the main source of income for the household.

Over the years, however, the onset of cataracts in both eyes began to fog her world literally. The gradual loss of vision made routine tasks uncertain: walking through narrow aisles, recognizing bills, weighing products, or identifying familiar faces in the dim light of dawn. "I couldn't see well any longer. Walking down the street had become dangerous for me," she recalls. The situation forced her to make a painful decision: to leave her job, cutting off the source of income that supported her household and her independence.

In 2025, Regina visited Fundación Visión seeking an answer. The evaluation confirmed bilateral cataracts requiring surgery. The institution coordinated the entire process: preoperative assessment, surgery, and postoperative follow-up. Additionally, she received the lenses recommended by the medical team to enhance her functional recovery. The aim was not only to restore her vision but also to regain specific abilities: selecting vegetables, recognizing her customers, and moving around safely.

The results were remarkable. After the surgery, Regina regained her visual clarity, along with her independence and joy. As is customary and clinically advised, she was prescribed postoperative eyeglasses: far from being an "extra," they complement the surgery and enhance the focus to achieve the best possible vision in everyday life. The combination of surgery (which removes the opacity of the lens) and eyeglasses (which correct the residual refractive error) restored her confidence and precision in her activities.

With her recovery and the help of her eyeglasses, Regina was able to resume her routine: getting up early to leave Luque for Asunción by public transport, travelling more than 20 km on a journey of about an hour and a half each way. She opens her stall in Mercado 4 at 7:00 a.m. and works until 6:00 p.m., checking her merchandise, tidying her stall, and greeting those who saw her grow up among bags, tents, cardboard boxes, and wheelbarrows. Poor vision is no longer a barrier to moving safely around the city or caring for her mother at home.

Her experience has also made her an advocate for eye health in her community. She advises other working women not to delay seeing a doctor and to overcome their fear: she took a friend to Fundación Visión to begin her treatment. "Don't wait like I did. Fundación Visión is there to help us. There's no need to be afraid," she insists.

In contexts such as Mercado 4-with its high mobility, attention to detail, and rapid transactions-seeing clearly is not a luxury; it is a prerequisite for dignity, productivity, and economic inclusion. Today, Regina has not only regained her sight: she has regained her place in the Mercado 4 community, the commercial heart of Asunción that saw her grow up alongside her mother and now sees her again-with clear vision-opening her stall every day, ready to serve those who trust in the quality of her vegetables and the history of hard work behind every sale.

Cataract is cloudiness in the lens of the eye, leading to increasingly blurred vision. It is the leading cause of blindness globally, impacting 94 million people worldwide. Vision loss due to cataract can be restored with a simple and cost-effective surgery. In adults, the risk of developing cataract increases with age, but other factors can accelerate their development. In children, they can be congenital (present at birth) or develop later, often due to genetic factors, infections, or other underlying conditions. While cataracts may not be entirely preventable, there are lifestyle changes and habits that can be adopted to reduce the risk and delay their onset. 

After cataract surgery, eyeglasses often remain important for optimizing vision. They provide a safe, non-invasive way to fine-tune sight and correct any remaining refractive error. Many people still need eyeglasses for near tasks such as reading or other near work. A check for new eyeglasses is usually recommended once the eye has healed and vision has stabilized, typically a few weeks after surgery.

This story has been developed by Fundación Visión in collaboration with the WHO Vision and Eye Care Programme.

Photo credits: Christian Ríos and Maira Bogarín.