If I lost any of my senses, losing my sight would be the most devastating to me. Not being able to see my children grow up, not being able to marvel at the colours of nature in it’s flowers or leaves, the blue of the sky or the grey of a storm. Not seeing snow fall from the sky or to read a book,  none of it bears thinking about. But, cataracts, which is caused by a clouding of the eye’s lens is the number one cause of blindness in the world. It does not only affect adults but in developing countries it affects children too, and the operation only takes 20 minutes to rectify the problem. However, at a cost of £30 for adults and £50 for children, due to lack of money and resources this is not possible for millions of people. These people lose their sight, and in a developing country with little back up this can lead to a lack of education and work leading to even deeper poverty and deprivation.

Today, Sightsavers are launching ‘A Million Miracles‘ campaign, with a goal of raising £30 million to fund sight restoring procedures by 2017. Sightsavers are inviting everyone to be part of the first miracle.

We will all be able to #SeeTheMiracle as we watch the story of Winesi.

Winesi has been losing his sight for 12 years and been completely blind for 2 years.

Via a Google + hangout we will be able to watch live on 8th October 2014 at 1.30pm UK time as Winesi undergoes surgery in Queen Elizabeth hospital in Malawi ( I am assured it won’t be gory).

And on the 9th October at 1.30pm UK time,there is the big reveal as Winesi’s bandages are removed, and he sees for the first time in years.

The impact of Winesi’s blindness also affects his family.

Winesi March’s family is a big one. He and his wife Namaleta have 13 children in total, as well as many grandchildren. There’s Yulita, Frackson, Ethel, Flora, Luka, Lett, Samson, Yelesi, Alan… and that’s just for starters.

Winesi’s sight loss has affected all of them, and this is often an underestimated cost of avoidable blindness: the impact on the whole family.

“I feel sorry for my family,” says Winesi. “Because of my eye problem, I can no longer provide as I used to do in the past. I have some maize that I harvested last year remaining, but my worry is that once it’s finished, I won’t be able to support my family. I’m worried that they will suffer.”

He continues: “Everyone in this family is affected because of my blindness. Sometimes my children and my grandchildren fail to do what they want to do because they have to be around to help me. They can’t play with their friends or do other activities, because they have to be here to protect my life. There are times when my wife is away and my children can’t go to school because they have to look after me.”

The impact is biggest on Namaleta, who now has to do the work of two people to keep the household running and work to provide for the family. Winesi relies on her to lead him around, and although he’s known for a while that his cataracts could be treated at the hospital, he’s needed his wife to assist him to get there, and for various reasons – illness, bad timing, being unable to afford transport costs, the long walk on uneven roads – this hasn’t been possible.

Now Winesi’s preparing for his surgery on 8 October, and while it’ll certainly change his life, it’ll also make life a great deal easier for the whole family, particularly Namaleta. Winesi can’t wait: “I will be very happy when I regain my sight. I will feel that I am the luckiest person on this earth,” he says. “I will also make celebrations with my family… Everyone in this family will be happy.”

Follow this story on Twitter , Facebook, and come back because I will have a widget here too that will help you keep track of what is going on. In the meantime if you would like to donate to help Sightsavers with their A Million Miracles campaign then click HERE. To read more about the campaign and to read other posts and stories head HERE.

Lastly don’t forget to follow #SeeTheMiracle on all social media platforms to keep track of Winesi’s story.