I am a 72 year old retired engineer who lives on the interest income received from the Fixed Deposit account I maintain. My wife had been a house wife and does not have her own income. We both live on the Fixed Deposit interest I receive on a monthly basis. Recently in my country (Sri Lanka) the Fixed Deposit interest rates dropped drastically (from about 20% per annum in 2022 to 07.5% per annum in 2025) and my monthly income also reduced considerably as a result of the reduction in the interest rates. Me and my wife have to depend on my daughter who is also married and having a child, to financially help us to meet the shortfall in our monthly expenses. Although we are very embarrassed to do so, we are left with no alternative but to get her help.
As an alternative we decided to partition the house I live in and give one part on rent so that the rent income will supplement the shortfall in the monthly cash flow. The cost of partitioning will be approximately US$ 14,000.00 which is beyond my financial capacity.
A recent visit to the optician to change the lenses of my spectacles resulted in detecting cataract formation in my eyes. The cost of the cataract surgery in Sri Lanka will be equivalent to approximately US$ 1,000.00 all inclusive (inclusive of pre operational and post operational medication and other charges).
I investigated two other options available to me, namely getting the surgery done through a charitable organization or at a much cheaper institution. Unfortunately, I do not qualify to get the surgery done through a charitable organization because of the Fixed Deposit I maintain. I am left in no man’s land in this situation because the income from the Fixed Deposit also is not sufficient to meet our monthly expenses, leave aside meeting the cost of the cataract surgery. But the standards set by the charitable organizations do not include my situation.
The second option of getting the surgery done through a cheaper source includes using cheaper lenses, cheaper medication and low hygienic conditions during and after operation. As a result, the risk element of getting the surgery done at a cheaper organization is much greater and I do not wish to end up being blind.
So, I am left with no choice but to request help from any kindhearted donor or donors to undergo the cataract surgery and to partition the house for supplementary income to maintain our monthly expenses. I take this opportunity to thank everyone who will consider my request sympathetically and make donations towards successful cataract surgery.
Thank you