Olga Marina Armas Vilchis lives in Indiana, a small riverside community along the Amazon River in Peru. Now in her early eighties, she has spent a lifetime defined by hard work, faith, and love. For more than fifty years, she and her husband, César Vázquez Flores, raised twelve children—ten sons and two daughters—with dedication and love.
For nearly thirty years, Olga worked as a cook. From small food stalls and family homes to a floating riverside restaurant, she prepared breakfast, lunch, and dinner day after day. Cooking was more than a way to earn a living—it was her pride and joy. Known for traditional dishes like rice with chicken, escabeche, stews, fish, plantains, and pasta, Olga supported her family by standing long hours over smoky charcoal fires, surrounded by heat and exhaustion, yet always determined and happy.
Then her eyesight began to fade.
About three years ago, Olga lost vision in one eye. What began as blurriness slowly turned to darkness. A year later, her remaining eye also began to fail. By the following November, she could barely see enough to walk. Soon after, she could not see at all.
Losing her sight changed everything. Olga could no longer cook, clean, or move freely in her home. Once independent and strong, she became dependent on others for even the simplest tasks. “I want to do my own things,” she says quietly. “But I can’t. I don’t see.”
César became her guide—leading her by the hand, preparing food, helping her dress, and continuing to work in agriculture to support them by growing plantains, yucca, and corn. Watching his wife suffer has been deeply painful. “I would rather suffer in my own body,” he says, “than see her like this.”
Olga cried every day and prayed constantly, asking God not for perfect sight, but for enough vision to walk safely and live with dignity. When she learned that an outreach eye camp funded by Seva Canada donors—bringing doctors to care for people who could not afford treatment—had arrived in her region for the first time in almost ten years, Olga and César felt a flicker of hope.
After being diagnosed with cataracts in both eyes, Olga and César were transported by boat to the eye hospital in Iquitos run by our partner, DNJ (Clínica Oftalmológica Divino Niño Jesús). She was provided with cataract surgery on her right eye, provided by Seva Canada donors. Olga was overjoyed to see again. She’s already hoping to get surgery on her left eye. César smiles constantly, grateful to see his wife filled with joy once more.
Olga and César’s story is one of perseverance, faith, and love—and of sight and hope restored.
