The Russian network of eye clinics "Yasny Vzor" provides free medical care to children from Donbass.

Under the We Together aid program, the Joy of Clear Vision Charitable Foundation raises funds for the treatment of young patients suffering from various visual impairments. 

According to Onik Aznauryan, President of the Charitable Foundation, since October 2022, 33 children have been able to receive free assistance under the We Are Together program.

The head of the Yasny Vzor clinic network, Candidate of Medical Sciences, Professor Igor Aznauryan, told RT what pathologies they are most often treated with.

“Basically, these are disorders associated with eye movement, paralytic strabismus, nystagmus, disorders associated with the optics of the eye,” the ophthalmologist lists.

— We are also treated with congenital pathologies.

There were cases of atrophy of the optic nerves, congenital cataract, there was one case of injury.

The medic noted that all the children who lived in the war zone experienced great stress, however, contrary to the opinion of some parents, stress itself is not the root cause of the problems with which they come to the Yasniy Vzor clinic.

“What these children have experienced, of course, causes great compassion.

It is a great sadness when children suffer because of adults.

However, as a doctor, I can say that stress itself cannot affect the organs of vision in such a way that it immediately deteriorates without any other external influence.

Perhaps the problem was already there, but because of stress, people began to be more attentive to themselves and their well-being,” explains Igor Aznauryan. 

At the disposal of RT were letters from some parents whose children are preparing to undergo free treatment at Yasny Vzor clinics.

We tell their stories.

need surgery

The twins Gordey and Varvara Govorushko were born in Donetsk, when there were no full-scale military operations in the region.

But, according to their parents, even then the civilian population suffered from constant shelling from the Ukrainian side.

The babies were born prematurely, with congenital eye retinopathy, but this pathology eventually disappeared by itself.

  • Gordey and Varvara Govorushko

  • © Charitable Foundation "Joy of Clear Vision"

According to his mother, in 2021, little Gordey's eyes suddenly squinted, in May 2022 the situation only worsened, but it was no longer possible to treat this problem due to the hostilities that had begun in the region.

“Every day was hard for us.

We lived on the 24th floor and watched the terrible footage with our own eyes.

Twice we changed the glass in the apartment, then tightened it with polyethylene.

At any sound, my children, like everyone else, lay down on the ground or on the floor - they were taught that way in kindergarten and school, ”recalls the mother of twins.

The Govorushko family sat in the apartment for two months, fearing that they would come under fire.

After one of the bombings, little Varvara had an epileptic attack.

The parents decided to take the children away.

First we went to friends in Norway, but could not stand the difficult conditions in the refugee camps.

“The refugee camp in Norway had terrible food and difficult conditions: the children were starving, we endured endless threats and bullying from Ukrainian “brothers” for being from Donetsk,” the woman recalls.

From Norway, the family moved to the Moscow region, where the mother of the twins was finally able to take care of the children's eyesight and turned to the Yasny Vzor clinic.

It turned out that Gordey needed an operation, but his family could not afford the expensive surgery.

Thanks to the Joy of Clear Vision Foundation, Gordey's family got a chance for treatment, and his little sister got special glasses.

The fund managed to raise 564,000 rubles for the treatment of the boy, which is the largest collection so far during the work of the We Are Together program.

Almost died

When the special operation began in Ukraine, four-year-old Nikita Bogomol lived with his parents and three-year-old sister Nina in the Kherson region.

The family first moved from shelling to a dacha on the banks of the Dnieper, where they hid in the basement.

The mother said that at that time she was afraid to go to work - she thought that the children would not be able to quickly react to another projectile and run away.

Grandfather's chronic disease worsened due to nerves, he had to regularly get out to the city to see a doctor under the bombing along with his children.

On one of these sorties, the family almost died - it was only saved by the fact that on the way, son Nikita asked to go to the toilet.

“We got out of the car, and at that moment we were thrown back by the blast wave.

If we hadn't stopped, the blow would have hit the car earlier and we would hardly have survived.

After that, Nina began to constantly cry, crying until she turned blue, and Nikita, if she moves a couple of meters away, cannot recognize me - his vision deteriorated instantly due to nervousness, ”says the mother of the child. 

The family decided to get out of the city when another shell hit an ammunition depot nearby.

12 hours Nikita, Nina, their parents and grandfather hid under the blankets on the floor to the sound of incessant explosions.

When everything calmed down, they went to the Crimea, using the help of carriers - they took a lot of money, but managed to cooperate with their neighbors.

However, the family was not calm in the Crimea either, and soon they moved to Moscow. 

Now Nina, Nikita and their parents are trying to get used to a new life, settle down and come to their senses after the experience.

In the capital, Angelina had the opportunity to show her four-year-old son to the doctors of the Yasny Vzor clinic - there Nikita, whose eyesight had fallen during the hostilities, was diagnosed and prescribed treatment.

“Most of all, I want my children to be healthy,” emphasizes Angelina.

- We really need observation and treatment by an ophthalmologist for Nikita.

From the bottom of our hearts, we thank the Joy of Yasny Vzor Charitable Foundation and the Yasny Vzor Association of Children's Eye Clinics, Professor Igor Aznauryan, for taking us for free vision diagnostics, treatment and, in case of urgent need, surgery for Nikita.

"There is hope"

The family of 12-year-old Misha Evseev left the DPR on June 1, 2022, unable to withstand the constant shelling.

Prior to this, a family with three children lived for two weeks in the corridor of their apartment, trying to hide from the bombing (there was no basement in their house).

“We were looking for an opportunity to escape as soon as possible.

We were helped to leave by acquaintances who also wanted to get to Moscow to their relatives.

Now we are renting an apartment in the Moscow region on payments provided for refugees.

My husband and I were able to get a job, but there are many problems due to documents and lack of funds.

Charitable foundations help us with essentials, groceries and the health of my children,” explains Misha’s mother.

According to the parents, Misha's vision began to deteriorate rapidly due to the stress he had experienced.

In Moscow, the family was able to take their son for diagnostics to the Yasny Vzor clinic, now Misha is waiting for the treatment to begin.

Another little patient of the Yasny Vzor clinic, ten-year-old Miroslava Kolesnik, lived in Lisichansk at the time of the beginning of the SVO.

According to her mother, shelling began almost immediately in the city, the family hid in the basement of their apartment building, because there were no other shelters prepared in the city.

“If we, adults, were in fear every minute, then the children were all the more worried, constantly crying.

They didn't want to sit in the dark all day long and listen to where the next rocket was coming from.

Then, in the basement, Miroslava began to complain that her right eye sees well, and her left eye is blurry.

Since we didn’t have doctors and specialized medical care in the city, we couldn’t check Mira’s eyes at that time, ”explains the girl’s mother. 

When the family managed to move to Moscow, the girl was taken to the doctors of the Yasny Vzor clinic, where she was diagnosed, glasses were fitted and treatment was prescribed.

Charitable Foundation

The founder and president of the Joy of a Clear View charity foundation, Onik Aznauryan, told RT about the We Are Together targeted assistance program.

According to him, this initiative grew out of the foundation's main activity, which since 2020 has been helping children from low-income families who need expensive ophthalmological treatment.

  • Igor Aznauryan

  • © Charitable Foundation "Joy of the Clear View"

“Eye diseases are in third place among all children's morbidity in the world, but few people pay attention to this.

It is clear that in the system of charity in the first place is oncology.

And we are practically the only ones in the country who do charity work specifically for children's eye diseases, ”the RT interlocutor emphasizes.

According to Onik Aznauryan, 46 people have applied for treatment since the beginning of the We Are Together program, some of them are still under consideration, 33 children are already receiving or have completed treatment.

People learn about the program through various volunteer organizations and NGOs.

The philanthropist noted that upon receipt of an application, the foundation announces a collection on the website, the treatment is also financed at the expense of the foundation's own funds and the help of sponsors.

Onik Aznauryan told about what is required to participate in the “We are together” program.

“For a free diagnosis, a child’s birth certificate, a migration card or a refugee certificate, parents’ passports, and a description of the presence of difficult life circumstances are sufficient,” Aznauryan listed.

If the child is indicated for treatment or surgery, the charitable foundation asks the family for documents confirming the difficult financial situation that does not allow paying for the treatment.

“As a rule, we try to send material assistance to families in need,” summed up the president of the Joy of a Clear View Foundation.

You can read the stories of children in the care of the Joy of Clear View Charitable Foundation at the link.