Heavily swollen eyelids embarrass 16-year old Mansah.

“Since class one, I’ve been the subject of people talking about me because of my puffy eyes,” she said, hanging her head in shyness.

Although her parents took her to a number of clinics, no one could help Mansah until she arrived at Watborg. After Dr. Boateng (Bo) Wiafe performed blepharoplasty surgery on her right eyelid, the swelling was reduced dramatically.

Mansah exclaimed joyfully, “I am so glad I look better now. I’m ready to have my left eyelid operated on, too!”

There have been many success stories like Mansah’s at Watborg since Operation Eyesight opened the new eye hospital in April 2012. Built with generous contributions from Calgary’s philanthropic Taylor family, along with an anonymous Canadian donor and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the hospital serves patients from across Ghana. A few have even arrived from neighbouring countries, including Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Mali.

“We are making a significant contribution to our community because of where we’re located [just outside the capital city of Accra],” says Dr. Bo, a renowned ophthalmologist and Operation Eyesight’s Regional Director for Africa. He notes he hasn’t needed to advertise the hospital’s services at all. “We’re the only eye health facility within 50 kilometres.”

With the hospital open six days a week, the state-of-the-art hospital is making a considerable impact on the number of patients treated.

After successful surgery on her right eyelid, Mansah is eager to have her left eyelid corrected too!

“As months go by, we see our patient numbers increasing due to word of mouth. They range from poor villagers whose treatment is paid for by generous Operation Eyesight donors, to paying patients, including doctors, lawyers and other professionals. Our patients are all ages, and have all stages of eye conditions from preventative to degenerative to traumatic.”

The facility relies on referrals from district hospitals and from its two optometrists, who travel to remote villages to identify patients who require eye treatment, and refer them back to the hospital. Patients are sometimes transported by the hospital vehicles as well.

Dr. Bo reports that local stakeholders appreciate the quality of the new facility. “It’s very gratifying that the community values the services in their midst. Our patient outcomes are good, so the Ministry of Health is very happy with our work too. “

Read more about the impact of Watborg Eye Hospital in Part I and Part II of “Celebrating a new hospital in Ghana.”

With his mother, wife and four daughters at his side, Kandi Chandramohan beams as he and his mother recover from cataract surgery.

For the past year, Kandi found he had difficulty in seeing things. He visited three different eye clinics, where he was prescribed eyeglasses and recommended surgery. However, as a daily wage earner, Kandi barely managed to make ends meet. He could never imagine having enough money to pay for eye surgery, even though he needed it desperately.

His failing eyesight soon made it very difficult for him to work, especially during evening and night hours. He became dependent on his wife or mother to travel to his workplace. Luckily, a colleague was very supportive and helped him to accomplish tasks at work.

Meanwhile, Kandi’s mother also started losing her vision, which began to restrict her movements even at home. With both her husband and mother-in-law becoming incapacitated with blindness, the burden on Kandi’s wife Pusphalatha became heavy. Life was very difficult for the family.

Fortunately, Pusphalatha’s sister lives in Fatehnagar, a slum area of Hyderabad where Operation Eyesight has community eye health projects as part of the Seeing is Believing program, sponsored by Standard Chartered Bank. She told a project community health worker about her sister’s dilemma, and the worker encouraged her to tell her sister about the vision centre.

Pusphlatha brought her mother-in-law and husband to the vision centre where they both were diagnosed with cataract and referred to Kishor Chand Eye Hospital for surgery. They were overjoyed when the community health worker reassured them that funding from Operation Eyesight donors would cover the cost of the surgeries.

Kandi was able to secure a month’s leave from his employer to undergo surgery, and he and his mother went to the hospital, where they underwent surgery one after another.

While his mother is very grateful to the project staff for giving her vision back, Kandi wants to spread the news about the good work carried out by Operation Eyesight and the community eye health project. Perhaps the happiest of all was Pusphlatha. One of our staff remarked that “the relief on Kandi’s wife’s face was beyond words.”

Read more about our innovative community development programs in India.

This photo shows a heartwarming maternal moment, when one of our favourite mothers and grandmothers, Jerita, saw her baby granddaughter for the first time after cataract surgery. You can learn more about Jerita’s story here.

Send a tribute gift from Operation Eyesight to an important mom in your life!

Yet it may be shocking to realize that in the time it took you to read this paragraph, a child somewhere in the developing world permanently lost his or her vision. And even more shocking: the blindness was likely preventable.

Many babies in developing countries are born with neonatal conjunctivitis, an infection that causes a thick pus-like drainage from the eyes. Left untreated, it can lead to vision loss and blindness.

Fortunately, this horrible condition can be prevented simply and inexpensively by putting antibiotic drops in newborn babies’ eyes.

Operation Eyesight is training community midwives and traditional birth attendants in Ghana, Kenya, Zambia and India to use these eye drops, along with other preventative measures, to prevent infection and save babies’ vision. These public health training programs are supported by our generous donors, and are helping make fundamental health care changes that will improve lives today and for generations to follow.

May 5 is International Day of the Midwife; and in honour of all babies and their mothers, we invite you to give the mom in your life an unconventional Mother’s Day gift this year. Before May 12, visit our Gift Guide and help Operation Eyesight save babies’ vision by providing proper training to midwives and traditional birth attendants!

Narok’s rough terrain is a hindrance no longer, thanks to generous Operation Eyesight donors!

How is Operation Eyesight combating blinding trachoma in Kenya? Dr. Steve Mukiri, an ophthalmologist at the Narok District Hospital, reports on the local war against trachoma. (Read Part 1.)

Before any Mass Drug Administration (MDA) exercise can kick off, our teams conduct intensive planning, lobbying and resource mobilization.

The International Trachoma Initiative (ITI) requisitions in advance the trachoma antibiotic medication from Pfizer, with specific quantities calculated by the district pharmacist. Drugs are collected from Nairobi and transported to sentinel sites for easy access. Meanwhile, public education is conducted in the community before beginning the activity, along with recruiting and training field personnel.

Community residents gather around the Operation Eyesight vehicle.

Once everything is organized and scheduled, the MDA exercise begins. Each division is tackled separately in order to maximize field staff and supervision by the eye unit team and district health team. Field tallying and data input is done while in the field. Laptops are crucial, as many places have no electricity.

While the circumstances remain challenging, we are happy to report that logistics and travel have become easier. In 2012, Operation Eyesight donors funded a new 4×4 vehicle for our eye health program, which has contributed to the great success of the MDAs. The rugged Toyota Hilux can handle the rough roads, so now supervisory teams can move easily across the harsh terrain, and field staff can move to needy areas to complete tasks quickly and effectively.

Prior to receiving the new vehicle, movement was difficult, expensive and unreliable. Any movement of the eye care team required us to borrow a vehicle from another department. Whenever we borrowed a vehicle, a promise to service it, repair or replace a certain part was coerced out of us, which sometimes puts us in a tight spot. Dipping into our own pockets was becoming the norm for the program to succeed!

Waiting for antibiotic distribution.

We are very grateful for the Canadian Auto Workers’ generous donation of the vehicle to Narok. It has really motivated us and eased the difficulty and stress of running the eye care program. The residents of Narok really benefit from its presence; and if they are happy, so are we! We recently completed the fifth division out of the six MDAs and the trend is impressive. We are optimistic that we shall surpass last year’s record.

Special thanks to Dr. Steve Mukiri for his report. Operation Eyesight greatly appreciates the Canadian Auto Workers union and their Social Justice Fund. By funding this much-needed vehicle, you are helping make possible a victory against trachoma in Narok!

Dr. Steve Mukiri outlines the logistics of Mass Drug Administration (MDA) in remote areas of Kenya.

This week, we present the first of a two-part story about the ongoing battle against blinding trachoma, a terrible infectious disease that is one of the leading causes of avoidable blindness globally. The World Health Organization, together with partners like Operation Eyesight and local Ministries of Health, has invested huge resources into eliminating trachoma by the year 2020. Dr. Steve Mukiri, an ophthalmologist at the Narok District Hospital in Kenya, recently sent us this report about the local war against trachoma.

In Kenya, Narok is one of the districts where trachoma is endemic. The Narok program is a comprehensive one that encompasses all four elements of the SAFE strategy for trachoma control: Surgery for trichiasis, Antibiotic distribution, Face washing, provision of water and personal hygiene and lastly Environmental improvement, which includes latrines, safe waste disposal and health education.

Narok district recently conducted its fifth round of Mass Drug Administration (MDA) exercise for the elimination of trachoma. It involves giving Zithromax®, an antibiotic which has been shown to be highly effective against the bacteria that causes trachoma, to all residents of the district. The antibiotic is donated free of charge by its manufacturer Pfizer through the International Trachoma Initiative (ITI).

Estimating a child’s antibiotic requirement.

The MDA exercises are gruelling and fraught with challenges, ranging from treacherous terrain, poor road conditions, vast sparsely-inhabited areas, extreme weather conditions, and human-wildlife conflict. The exercise requires our teams to move long distances to reach families and individuals in their manyattas (households), schools and markets, in order to maximize every opportunity to give residents the antibiotic.

Come back next week to learn how the teams prepare for “battle,” and why our donors’ support is so vital in the war against trachoma!

Dr. Ben Gullison with wife Evlyn, who first embarked together to India on their honeymoon.

Dr. Gullison was born in Yarmouth, N.S. He studied medicine at Acadia University and Edinburgh University, specializing in surgery and midwifery and later doing post-graduate work in the treatment of leprosy.

He had a deep connection with India, having spent 10 years there as a child with his missionary parents. He returned to India with his wife Evlyn as part of the Canadian Baptist Mission and arrived in the town of Sompeta in 1935, a time when there were no roads or electricity and the hospital was a one-room thatched-roof hut. The Gullisons channeled their energy into building a new facility, later named Arogyavaram Hospital.

As the years went on, Dr. Gullison became increasingly concerned with the number of destitute blind he encountered. Eyes were not his speciality, so he invited ophthalmologist Dr. John Coapullai to join the staff at Arogyavaram. The two later estimated that 200,000 curable blind people lived within 320 kilometres of the hospital. Thanks to funding from an American charity, they began offering free cataract surgeries.

Then disaster struck. After two years, the charity ended their funding. And so, in 1962 the Gullisons returned to Canada to seek support for their hospital.

In Calgary, Dr. Gullison met Art Jenkyns, who created the “Ben Gullison Club” to raise money. The humble Dr. Gullison disliked the name, but he couldn’t argue with the group’s success; they raised enough money for 148 cataract surgeries that year. At Dr. Gullison’s request, the group renamed itself “Operation Eyesight,” and by 1970 was raising enough money to take over total financial responsibility for Arogyavaram Eye Hospital, which had become a dedicated eye facility.

Dr. Gullison retired from the hospital in 1969, and in 1980 he was awarded the Order of Canada for his many achievements. In 1984, he took up a role as honorary president of Operation Eyesight with these words: “Let us press forward, reaching out to what is ahead – that many thousands more destitute blind men, women and little children may receive freely the priceless gift of sight.”

Operation Eyesight is the shared legacy of Art Jenkyns, our founder, and Ben Gullison, our inspiration. We are still pressing forward and reaching out towards Dr. Gullison’s vision of a world without avoidable blindness. Just as we remember his contribution, we also remember our donors, who are making Dr. Gullison’s dream a reality. Thank you!

Want to learn more about Dr. Gullison and Art Jenkyns? You can find more about them and their huge impact on our story here.

Even young adults need to watch their blood pressure to protect their eyes! Photo by Ric Rowan.

If you have high blood pressure, or hypertension, you are probably familiar with the litany of major health problems it can create. But did you know that besides leaving you vulnerable to heart disease, heart attack and stroke, high blood pressure can cause eye disease and even blindness?

High blood pressure may lead to hypertensive retinopathy, a serious disease that damages the blood vessels in the retina at the back of the eye.

It can also result in glaucoma, a degenerative eye condition whereby your optic nerve cells are damaged by excess fluid pressure in the eyeball. Next to diabetes, glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness in North America.

While high blood pressure can damage your vision, it is also one of the most preventable health conditions. Watch your salt intake; exercise regularly; de-stress your life where possible; and see your physician regularly. Besides hypertension, a number of other factors can affect your eye health, including age, ethnicity, family history, and past eye injuries.

We do not presume to offer medical advice, but here’s a tried and true tip: you can look after your own vision by scheduling a visit with an eye care professional today!

Hard to believe but true: In 2008, approximately 40 percent of the world’s adults aged 25 and over had raised blood pressure! Check out what that global statistic looks like on the WHO’s interactive map.

Many of our supporters around the world are celebrating Easter this weekend. We would like to take this opportunity to wish you, your family and friends a very happy Easter time and, for those of us in the northern hemisphere, a very welcome Spring!

Not only do our Canada Board chair Dan Parlow and vice-chair Rob Ohlson bring significant expertise, energy and commitment to their roles, they have created an exciting new financial initiative as well!

These schoolchildren in Zambia enjoy access to fresh water, thanks to our generous donors! Photo by Wairimu Gitahi.

The pair is leading the “Well Champions for Africa” program to raise funds for water wells in Zambia and Kenya. These two African countries suffer from a lack of available fresh water, which contributes to the agonizing eye disease trachoma.

With wells costing $42,000/well in Kenya and $22,000/well in Zambia, Dan and Rob hope colleagues, friends, corporations and members of the wider Operation Eyesight family will consider contributing to a well and becoming a “well champion.”

Rob recently funded a well in Zambia, while Dan put together a network of four investors to fund two wells in the same country. “We are excited at the possibility to transform up to 6,000 lives with our modest investments and to watch the results unfold over the upcoming years,” Dan says.

“As the cliché states, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” says Rob. “Not only is clean water the epicenter of eye health, it nurtures immeasurable ancillary benefits from education to farming to healthcare to the ability to strive to a better life. It allows people to live, not just exist.”

“Return on investment (ROI) is critical to us, as it is to other donors,” adds Dan. “Operation Eyesight’s clean water program provides an astonishingly high ROI on blindness prevention which is readily measurable. This program provides an opportunity for individuals and small groups to participate in the dramatic transformation of an entire village. Your donation can help eradicate blinding trachoma, and provide vast ancillary benefits which come with access to clean water.”

“This fundraising program proves our board members stand behind their passion for Operation Eyesight with their financial commitment,” says Brian Foster, interim president and CEO. “They believe in and connect with our mission. It’s a fantastic response to a very great need.”

If you’d like to donate to one of Operation Eyesight’s water projects, visit our Gift Guide and check out the options listed under “Water for Life”!