This book was written primarily for parents and other caregivers of young children who cannot see well. But it should not be their task alone to deal with the needs of their children. By making blindness a community issue, it is possible to lighten the extra burden carried by parents of blind children, begin to eliminate the causes of blindness, and help children who are blind grow up to be active community members. The root cause of most blindness is poverty. This means the majority of blindness is preventable. To reduce and prevent blindness, the conditions of poverty that oppress most people in communities around the world must be changed. This is one important reason we say that blindness is a community issue. Another reason is that children who are blind are our children - they are the future of our communities. Children who are blind need and deserve our love, care, and attention. When we make our communities places where blind children can thrive, at the same time we will be improving life for everyone. Everyone benefits from better education and health care, safer streets and neighborhoods, and more community participation. When you reach out to your friends and neighbors, you are creating the solidarity needed to build a better community and a world of social justice and human dignity.