Last week, I told you how many African countries are training frontline workers, including public health care staff, schoolteachers, midwives and traditional healers, to identify eye problems and other health concerns when they are working in the community. This type of community development program is highly effective in identifying health risks. When I was at… Continue reading Frontline workers reach remote patients in Africa (Part 2 of 2)
Tag: Kenya
Frontline workers reach remote patients in Africa (Part 1 of 2)
When medical personnel are scarce and rural populations are sparse, it’s time to get creative. Basic eye care is a significant problem in many parts of Africa; in fact, sub-Saharan Africa has one of the highest rates of visual impairment and blindness in the world. Poverty, disease and lack of access to eye care all… Continue reading Frontline workers reach remote patients in Africa (Part 1 of 2)
A teacher learns that clear vision is possible again
I met Sister Cecilia Chematia last year at Kenya’s Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in the small city of Eldoret. (Read more about my visit to the hospital here.) Operation Eyesight and its donors have supported the hospital’s eye unit since 2005. A 74-year old Roman Catholic nun from the Kaiboi convent, 50 km outside… Continue reading A teacher learns that clear vision is possible again
A smile worth seeing
Imagine losing your sight. It’s a highly emotional experience, even if the blindness is not trauma-related. With your vision gradually declining due to cataracts or other eye conditions, you’d feel sorrow, uncertainty and anxiety about the future. You’d naturally be apprehensive about eye surgery, yet eager for the possibility to be able to see again.… Continue reading A smile worth seeing
