PAYNESVILLE — “I’m begging everyone to please help me and come to my aid. This was never my plan. I dreamed of becoming a journalist, but life has shifted. The doctor says the little light remaining in my eyes could soon go out and when it does, I may be blind forever.”
By Patience M. [email protected]
Those heartbreaking words came from 35-year-old Clara Zinah Bah, a young Liberian woman whose dreams of becoming a journalist have been slowly overshadowed by a devastating eye condition that has robbed her of her education, independence and hope.
Once a vibrant and ambitious young girl full of confidence, courage and determination, Clara’s life took a tragic turn in December 2012, while she was in the 12th grade. What began as severe pain in one eye soon developed into a long and painful medical journey that has lasted for 14 years, leaving her nearly blind and desperately pleading for urgent medical help abroad.
Speaking to FrontPage Africa on Thursday at her home in the GSA Community, Paynesville, outside Monrovia, Clara recounted the painful story of how her life changed almost overnight.
She said the condition first started while she was in school, when she suddenly experienced intense pain in one eye and was forced to return home.
After the pain persisted, her family took her to Cooper Clinic’s eye center on 12th Street, where doctors initially diagnosed her with pressure in the eye. She was later referred for further tests, including an X-ray at JFK Medical Center and a CT scan at Tappita Hospital in Nimba County.
But despite years of consultations, scans, medications and repeated hospital visits, Clara says doctors have consistently told her the same troubling thing: they can only detect pressure in the eye, while the area behind it remains “dark” and difficult to assess due to the lack of advanced medical equipment in Liberia.
For years, medications temporarily eased the condition, allowing her to see for a few months before darkness returned. But by 2019, her vision had significantly worsened. Last year, she said, one eye went completely blind.
Today, Clara says she can only detect faint light — no shapes, no faces, and no clear images.
According to her, specialists — including doctors at JFK Medical Center and an Indian ophthalmologist who later treated her — have informed her that the condition has reached a stage beyond what can be managed locally.
She says she has been advised to seek treatment in a more medically advanced country where specialized equipment and expert care are available.
“They told me I need to go to an advanced country,” Clara said through tears. “That’s the only way they can help me now. They said I should be fast, before the little light in my eyes goes off completely.”
For Clara, the emotional pain cuts even deeper than the physical suffering.
A former student, who once dreamed of enrolling at the Peter Quaqua School of Journalism, Clara says her illness forced her to drop out of college and abandon the future she once imagined for herself.
“I wanted to become a journalist,” she said. “I had dreams. I wanted to go to school, work, and make something of myself. But every time I tried, the pain in my eyes would return, and I would go blind again.”
Now, instead of pursuing a career, Clara depends entirely on others for her daily survival. “It has not been easy to live with this kind of disability,” she said. “It’s very challenging. It’s frustrating. Sometimes it makes me cry. You know yourself, but you can’t do anything for yourself. You can’t go anywhere unless someone takes you. Anything you need, someone has to do it for you. It’s hard.”
Despite the devastating toll, Clara says she has refused to give up.
“No, I have not accepted it,” she said firmly. “I believe God can change my situation. That is why I am appealing to the public. The doctors said there is still a possibility for me to see again if I can get help to travel for treatment before the remaining light is gone.”
Her family, she says, has done everything possible over the past 14 years, but they can no longer bear the financial burden.
Now, Clara is making a heartfelt appeal to government officials, humanitarian organizations, charities, donors, and compassionate Liberians at home and abroad to come to her rescue before it is too late.
“I’m begging everyone who comes across my story — please help me,” she pleaded. “My parents cannot afford the hospital bills or the plane ticket to take me out of the country. I really need help. It is not easy to live with this disability. I don’t want to lose the little light I still have.”
As Clara continues to wait in hope, her story stands as a painful reminder of the many Liberians whose lives are put on hold not because treatment is impossible — but because access to specialized care remains out of reach.
For a young woman who once dreamed of holding a pen and telling the stories of others, Clara is now praying that her own story will be the one that moves someone, somewhere, to help save her sight.
Anyone wishing to support Clara Zinah Bah can contact her directly at 0777-566-471 or 0880-625-468.
