My name is Ben. I’m 24 and I have Stargardt disease, a degenerative condition that affects my eyesight. I struggle to see detail in the world around me, read text or see expressions on people’s faces. I need to raise £7,500 toward the £10,000 cost of eSight, an amazing piece of technology that will allow me to see and be truly independent for the first time since being diagnosed when I was 14.

Having Stagardts hasn’t stopped me working hard and achieving. I went to university and studied to become a primary school teacher. I’ve earned my Duke of Edinburgh Gold award and I’m now a Leader. I’m an ambassador for CHICKs, a charity that provides respite breaks for disadvantaged children. I have an England cap which I earned playing football for the Visually Impaired England squad.

But there are things I can't do easily; things like read a book to my class at school, look at bus timetables, read the label on food or clothing or peruse a menu in a restaurant. Watching a football match or going to the cinema is hard with Stargardts because I can’t see the players on the football field or the detail on the screen. Watching out for moving traffic on the streets or reading important labels on medication are necessary things most of you do without thinking but are harder for me.

All of that could change with eSight.

eSight is a revolutionary piece of technology which will enable me to see things I would otherwise be unable to. eSight uses a front-facing camera to capture the world around me and enable me to zoom in. I can use it to read signs in the street, train times at the station or simply flick through a magazine.

eSight will make an incredible different to all areas of my life and allow me to do things I would never be able to do without it.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/helpbensee/
eSight: https://www.esighteyewear.com/technology
Stargardts: http://www.rnib.org.uk/eye-health-eye-conditions-z-eye-conditions/stargardt-disease