Eye unit restores sight to the blind

Magdalena Kharises sang, danced and clapped her hands as she delighted in being able to see for the first time in eight years. Kharises had just undergone cataract surgery at a Surgical Eye Expedition (SEE) at Namibia's Gobabis State Hospital. Not only was she now able to see her grandchildren, more importantly, she had regained her financial independence as she culd now resume control of her small monthly pension. "I knew I was getting money but they (the children and grandchildren) would take it from me," she explained. Kharises was one of about 18,000 people - about one percent of Namibia's population - who are blind. Up to 80 percent of these people lost their sight through cataracts. While the operation to remove the cataracts only takes 20 minutes, the Namibian government has less than 10 eye specialists and only one fully equipped eye care facility. People like Kharises depend on Dr Helena Nduma who heads Namibia's blindness prevention programme which organises the SEEs. "Maybe I will also look for a young man now," Kharises joked. "I don't know how to thank her," Kharises said, pointing to Ndume. "I must give the doctor something big, but where do I get the money?" she asked the group of about 15 elderly women in the ward who also underwent cataract surgery. Ndume quickly suggested /Nabas - a wild food similar to a mushroom. Kharises reflected that her blindness had prevented her from looking for foods like that. "I was only eating mielies [maize cobs]," she said. Three beds from her was Maria Thai. She was angry when IRIN visited the hospital because when her sight was restored she didn't recognise many of her belongings, and felt they weren't hers. She had mistakenly given away a blanket but now wanted it back. Assisted by staff from the local hospital, ministerial staff from other regions and a group of Red Cross of Namibia volunteers, Ndume and her team carried out between 30 to 40 cataract operations in a 13-hour day during one week. First they went from village to village in the Omaheke Region to screen people before taking them to the nearby camp at Gobabis for the surgery. The next eye camp will be in Oshakati where the majority of Namibians live. Ndume said that after the operation health workers make people aware of protecting their eyes while they are healing, and teach them to visit a doctor instead of a traditional healer. They have also devised a system where they only operate on one eye at a time with patients who are totally blind, to assess whether the patient is responsible enough to manage the healing process. While the eye is healing they ask the patient to bring them another person who is completely blind before they will work on the second eye. "They know where they are. We give them such instructions so that the first eye will have enough time to heal completely. In the process we can see whether the person is responsible and can protect the eye for complete healing," Ndume said. Currently helping Ndume is an Italian and two American doctors who closed their practices for a week, bought air tickets, and flew to Namibia to work for free. It was the second visit to Namibia for Dr Pesando Paolo from Italy. He was in Oshakati five years ago. "I love to do this. Europe doesn't need cataract surgery. There they go to our consulting rooms when the eye is itching. These people are blind and appreciate our work. That is why we close our consulting rooms, pay for the tickets and come all the way," he said. Ndume is unable to describe the feeling when operations go successfully. "No money can replace the happiness that we experience. Sometimes I stand here and start crying."