Cleared for Takeoff: Nine Children’s Journey to Sight

April 8, 2026

Trachoma blinds millions worldwide. In South Sudan, it was threatening nine children’s sight — until The Carter Center flew them from their remote villages to the country’s only pediatric eye clinic. Now they’re back home, seeing clearly.

Eyelid surgery can stop the damage, but children require general anesthesia, and that means specialists. In this video, follow nine children as The Carter Center flies them from their remote villages near Pibor to the country’s capital, Juba — home to South Sudan’s only pediatric eye clinic.

For 12 days, the children and their caregivers ate, slept, and waited together while surgeons worked to restore their sight. The surgeries were a success. The children flew home free from pain and with their vision restored

No child should go blind from a preventable disease. The Carter Center is making sure they don’t.