Ophthalmologists for Africa have been helping patients from that continent for ten years, and the mission they are currently carrying out is the thirtieth in a row. However, it is unique and groundbreaking.
- This is the first mission when we are going to operate on patients. We will restore sight to the excluded and they cannot function normally. Most patients there have severe cataracts in both eyes. They are therefore blind people who cannot function on their own on a daily basis, said Dr. Iwona Filipecka, founder and president of the Okuliści dla Afrika foundation, in an interview for Polish Radio Katowice prior to her departure to Kiabakari.
As we learn from social media, at the end of October, Polish ophthalmologists successfully performed the first operations. One of the patients who underwent the procedure was sister Elizabeth, a Carmelite from Bunda Carmel. Before and after the surgery, photos of the foundation were posted on the foundation's Facebook profile.
"This is a golden opportunity for patients with visual problems in our region and beyond for professional, top-quality ophthalmic service from Polish specialists", we read in the entry.
Polish ophthalmologists in Kiabakari have already planned about two hundred operations. They also perform ophthalmological examinations of children at local schools. Earlier, with the Mobile Clinic there were, among others, in Cameroon, Namibia, Uganda and Kenya.