04/01/2026
IN PICTURES (viewer discretion advised)
A nine-year-old boy from Chozi village in Nakonde District has lost his sight to an unexplained illness despite months of treatment at the country's biggest hospitals, and his family is now appealing for about K50,000 to help him travel to India for specialist care in a last-ditch effort to save his eyes and relieve his pain.
Jonathan Sikaona, who will turn ten later this year, is the last-born in a family of eight children.
He was born healthy and developed normally until May 15, 2025, when he woke up with severely swollen eyes.
Days earlier, he had complained of feeling as if something had entered his eyes, but repeated checks showed nothing unusual.
His father, Yonah Sikaona, 59, a peasant farmer, tells Chete FM that Jonathan was in Grade 2 at the time.
The family first rushed him to Ntolondo Clinic, the nearest health facility in their village, where he was given eye drops and tablets for a week.
The treatment did not help, and his condition continued to worsen.
Hoping for better care, the family travelled to Kasama General Hospital, then to several other facilities, including private Chinese clinics and major hospitals in Kabwe, Kapiri Mposhi and Luanshya.
None of the treatments stopped the progression of the illness.
Their final stop was the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) in Lusaka, Zambia’s highest referral hospital, where they stayed from June to September.
According to Mr Sikaona, doctors conducted numerous tests and scans and even performed an operation, but Jonathan’s condition kept deteriorating.
By the time the family’s savings from farming were exhausted and they returned home to Chozi in October, Jonathan had completely lost his sight.
“Doctors told us they could not identify the disease despite all the tests,” Mr Sikaona shares, "they later recommended that we take him to India, where specialists might help.”
He adds that the family was advised to raise about K30,000 on top of assistance expected from the government, but overall they now need around K50,000 to make the trip possible.
Jonathan has attended only one school term since the illness began.
He missed the rest of last year and is supposed to be in Grade 3 this year.
Despite his blindness, his father says the boy still talks about his dreams.
“He wants to be a doctor and a pastor,” Mr Sikaona said, "he keeps saying he wants to go back to school.”
Jonathan also loves playing football and spending time with friends.
Asked what he would do first if he regained his sight, his father said the boy answered simply, he wants to play with his friends again, return to school, and go into the bush to catch mice, something he enjoyed before losing his vision.
For now, Jonathan is confined to a room in their house, resting under a mosquito net.
His parents and siblings have become his eyes, helping him with every daily activity.
His father says the child cries often because his eyes are painful and constantly watery.
“I still have hope,” Mr Sikaona shares with tears from his eyes.
“Even if he does not see again, I pray that the wounds in his eyes can heal so that he is relieved from the pain.”
Their hope now rests on the generosity of well-wishers and institutions to help raise the funds needed to take Jonathan to India where doctors may finally possibly help recover his sight.
For any assistance kindly get in.touch with the child's father Yonah Sikaona on 0972188105
🌅 Henry Paul Simfukwe
©️ Chete FM Nakonde
