His personal experience motivates him to help others

Written by Ashley Anderson, published on September 10, 2021 Give the Gift of Sight

For Emmanuel Kumah, our country manager in Ghana, joining Operation Eyesight’s mission to prevent blindness and restore sight has an important personal meaning. When he was a teenager, his father began losing his vision due to cataracts. At the time, few hospitals in Ghana offered eye health services, so he had to wait several months for treatment. Although Emmanuel was too young to fully grasp the gravity of the situation, the concern he felt for his father stayed with him until adulthood.

Upon his graduation with a master’s degree in development management, he received several employment offers, including one from Operation Eyesight. For Emmanuel, the choice was obvious.

“I viewed taking the role with Operation Eyesight as a personal challenge to do what I could, so that other families didn’t have to face the challenges and uncertainty that mine did,” says Emmanuel. “Now, not only am I able to support Ghana Health Services to incorporate eye health into their overall health delivery model, but I am also working to ensure that, every day, people at the community level have access to eye care services whenever they need them.”

Emmanuel presenting ophthalmic surgical equipment to the Ashanti Regional Director of Health Services on World Sight Day 2020.

We’re working in partnership with the Government of Ghana to strengthen the eye care systems across the country. Together, we’re successfully integrating eye health care into the primary health care system, bringing much-needed services to previously underserved communities. With passionate employees like Emmanuel and generous donors like you, we’re eliminating avoidable blindness in Ghana – For All The World To See.

Learn more about our work in Ghana here.