What happened to Kajal?
The 2024 movie Sight tells the story of Dr. Ming Wang, a Chinese immigrant who left Communist China and moved to America, where he became a renowned eye surgeon after graduating from Harvard Medical School.
In the movie, Wang meets a blind orphan named Kajal and he tries to restore her sight. Did he help her to see? And what happened to make Kajal go blind?
In this article, we take a look at the true life story of Kajal and what happened to her after she came to America.
Who is Kajal?
Kajal was a young orphan who lived in Calcutta, India, in one of the worst ghettos in the world. At a very early age, she was blinded by her stepmother who threw acid into her eyes to make her a blind child beggar.
Kajal’s stepmother wanted her daughter to sing on the streets, so as to make money for the family. But as Kajal wasn’t a very good singer, she was left at a train station to die.
Thankfully, Kajal was discovered by a Christian social work group called the Society of Underprivileged People (SOUP) who rescued her from her plight and searched around the world for a surgical team that could restore her vision.
What happened to Kajal?
The Wang Foundation for Sight Restoration, led by Dr. Ming Wang, heard about Kajal’s case and brought her to the United States in 2007. She was then given a caring home with a host family and treatment at Dr. Wang’s surgery.
When Dr. Wang saw the damage done to Kajal’s eyes, he was angry that somebody could inflict such an unspeakable atrocity on an innocent girl.
Unfortunately, one of her eyes was beyond repair but the doctor did have hope that he could improve the vision in the other.
Sadly, Dr. Wang wasn’t able to restore Kajal’s sight due to the damage caused by her stepmother. However, he was able to improve her vision slightly.
Dr. Wang’s faith in God was shaken by his experiences with Kajal as he felt his prayers hadn’t been answered. However, he was inspired by the joy that the girl possessed, despite the terrible things that had happened to her.
He spoke about this joy when he discussed the Wang Vision Restoration Foundation’s annual “Eye Ball” event which is held every year to raise funds for blind orphans. Talking about Kajal at the 2007 event, he said:
“While I was on stage introducing Kajal and the generous host families that took care of her during her time in the U.S., I realized something profound. Perhaps my prayers were answered. One after another, people came to the microphone and gave testimony of how Kajal had made a beautiful impact on their lives. She emanated joy and this was infectious.
The children that spent time with Kajal experienced joy and certain thankfulness for their own sight. The adults were inspired by her fearless gentle spirit that embraced the pain of her blindness but nevertheless did not lose hope. Kajal showed me that when darkness surrounds us (physically, emotionally and spiritually), light can still emanate from within.”
You can read more of that interview here.
Dr. Wang wasn’t able to restore Kajal’s vision but she helped to restore his faith in God.
We don’t know what happened to Kajal after her time with Dr. Wang but if we hear more after the movie Sight is released, we will update this page with new information. Feel free to get in touch with us if you know more about her story.
Read More: Sight: A True Story
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