HONOLULU (KHON2) — They say that there are only two things guaranteed in life: death and taxes. But there’s another near certainty in life, which may not be on the forefront of our minds.
Cataract surgery.
“Cataracts are basically the clouding of the lens as we get more mature, and by the time you turn 65 the majority of people will have it,” said Dr. Vivien Tham, ophthalmologist and president of the Pacific Vision Institute of Hawaiʻi. “It affects people in different degrees, but in the extreme end, that can take away all your vision.”
These surgeries come with a hefty price tag, especially for those who are uninsured or underinsured, with the procedure costing up to $10,000, Tham said.
Enter WikiVision — a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded by ʻIolani High School student Arabella Tan and her brother Alec over the pandemic.
The sibling duo were raised with a bountiful array of ophthalmological knowledge, thanks to Tham, who happens to be their mother.
“Since my brother and I have grown up hearing about ophthalmology and how cataracts and vision loss can affect people’s lives, we decided to found WikiVision in order to just give back to the community and to help those in need achieve the surgery that they can’t afford,” Tan said.
Through community efforts, such as their staple annual concert fundraiser, WikiVision’s wonderkids are able to provide free cataract surgeries.
The fundraising concert is organized by the students leading WikiVision, such as Tan, who serves as the organization’s chief executive officer. For support, Tham works as the organization’s chairperson.
Tan does a little more than just organize the concert — she is also a featured performer for the event.
“I play the piano and the harp, and we just thought it would be a really nice way to sort of bring the community together and also let lots of student musicians sort of get the opportunity to perform,” Tan said.
In addition to Tan, the most recent fundraising concert featured 13 student performers, from kindergarten to seniors in high school.
Through their annual concert fundraiser, WikiVision has raised enough money to perform more than 200 surgeries throughout their five years of service.
Thanks to the passion project of a pair of teens, countless of local families’ lives were changed for the better.
“It was amazing seeing all the results. We get to talk to each and every one of the patients and hear about how their vision has impacted their lives,” Tan said. “Many of them say they can’t drive, they can’t cook, they can’t do the basic things or the hobbies that they used to be able to do. But when we talk to them after their surgery, they are completely amazed.”
Their surgery is able to brighten patients’ perspective, both literally and metaphorically.
“Some [patients] say it’s like getting the fog wiped off of a cloudy window or something like that,” Tan continued. “They can see clearly for the first time, they can do all the things that they miss doing.”
While recovery is a grand feat for the patient, the families of the patient also see their own kind of relief.
“Apart from the person that is affected, people don’t realize how [cataracts] affects the whole family and community,” Tham said. “[Patients] need to have someone that is able, who is able to see, to lead them around. So that young person cannot go to work or do their normal activities while they’re staying at home to look after the person affected.”
This caretaker element highlights how important community is for those affected by cataracts and for the overall cause of WikiVision. Every step of the way, from pre-surgery to recovery, the community is there to support the health of an affected person.
“It really takes a village to come together and sort of fundraise for these surgeries, which are quite expensive, and allow all these people to honestly have their lives back,” Tan said. “Losing one of the five senses is a very difficult thing.”
From patient caretakers, to the WikiVision staff and their supporters, the greater island community really comes together to change the life of an affected person. WikiVision enjoys the support of community donors, company sponsors, a team of doctors and countless volunteers.
“Without our community, we can’t do anything. If we have a community behind us, anything is possible,” Tham said. “So from something that started in the living room during COVID lockdown where my two children, myself and my husband were brainstorming ideas on how we can get back to the community, to celebrating our fifth anniversary with all of our surgeons, doctors, staff, donors and sponsors and having helped more than 200 people… we couldn’t have done that without our community.”
The future especially lies with younger members of the community, as WikiVision looks to honor its origins of a student-led organization.
“Especially for young people a lot of the time, it’s really overwhelming, and it feels like we’re such a small voice in an enormous world,” Tan said. “But what this experience has really proven to me is that it’s possible to be a part of something bigger, and it’s possible to make a difference in the world.”
WikiVision is always looking for young talent who are hungry to make an impact. For more information on WikiVision, or joining their cause, visit their website or message them on Instagram.