A vision of hope

Sole providers for families in developing countries face terrifying prospects if they become blind, writes Chai Brady

For a mother who does readings at Church, runs her own business and loves to see the faces of her children and grandchildren, the prospect of slowly going blind is terrifying.

Hannah, who is in her 60s, realised something was wrong when she could see “dew” in her vision, other people with cataracts say it’s like looking through frosted glass.

Living in a beautiful country in terms of its landscapes and beaches should be wonderful, but Sierra Leone ranks as one of the poorest countries in the world, with a life expectancy of 49 for men and 50 for women.

“She was finding it increasingly difficult to read her hymn sheet and read the Bible in Church, I think she read out loud in Church,” said Megan McElwee from Irish charity Sightsavers, who met Hannah in Sierra Leone.

“She was really struggling with the fact she couldn’t see her children’s faces clearly and couldn’t see her grandchildren, which I think she was most concerned about.”

Conditions

In Makeni, eye related issues are rife and the services provided are limited, which means people with more serious conditions are left untreated.

Cataracts can be caused by aging, eye injuries, infections due to trauma or lack of sanitation and hygiene, eye surgery and genetics.

Many medical staff in the country don’t have the correct training to deal with eye issues, which leaves people with no choice but to slowly lose their sight.

Since 2014 Sightsavers has performed 12,600 cataract operations, trained 74 health workers to gain professional qualifications – including five cataract surgeons and 30 ophthalmic nurses – and distributed over 5.3 million river blindness treatments in Sierra Leone.

River blindness, Ms McElwee explained, is caused by a black fly bite that infects the host with a parasitic worm that can make them blind. The flies live near rivers which communities live close to for their livelihoods and ablutions, making infection rampant.

“Sightsavers works with community volunteers on the ground and they would distribute treatment for river blindness which can cost as little as 8c,” Ms McElwee said.

They have trained almost 90,000 community drug distributors who go to their communities and ensure that as many people as possible receive the medication to treat not only river blindness, but also trachoma which is caused by another infectious disease.

The trip Ms McElwee went on with Sightsavers mainly focused on eye health, particularly cataract surgeries, in Makeni Regional Hospital, which has only begun providing cataract surgery since September this year.

Their eye health unit is run by Dr Williams, who was trained by the charity, and has two small screening rooms and one ward for overnight patients. The flow of people receiving eye tests, glasses and treatment is in constant motion.

Ms McElwee met Hannah when she was slowly becoming blind due to her cataracts, but also after she received surgery with the help of the charity.

After surgery for her first eye she was delighted, saying: “I really am ready for the next operation and I know the same God will help me regain all my sight in Jesus’ name.”

Hannah wanted to thank the eye health team as soon as she could, and when she checked the duty roster of nurses, she realised she could read again.

“She had the most joyous reaction in the room when she had the bandages removed, you could see an immediate change,” said Ms McElwee.

“When we work here in Dublin and in the UK as well, we are working very closely with the stories of people who have got their sight back and you hear about it all the time and you know that it does change their lives.

“But when you’re there in person and you’re seeing it happen, it’s absolutely incredible.

“It was really moving actually, you could feel the emotion in the room as people were getting their bandages removed, and then after we visited them in their homes they had gone through the first couple of days of recovery and they were really able to communicate how much things had changed already for them.”

Another woman, called Haja (27), has two small children and had to stop her business selling in the local market as she was almost completely blind in one eye.

She had to leave school at a young age because her mother was experiencing sight problems, and now she can’t return because of her own.

“I had the opportunity to watch Haja’s surgery – the first cataract surgery I have watched. The whole process was so intense. The surgery is a straightforward one, but working on such a small surface, the eye, requires a lot of patience and meticulous skill from the surgeon and team,” said Ms McElwee.

Visiting Haja after the surgery she had a “renewed confidence”.

Ms McElwee said: “She was so chatty and open and confident, she was already talking about how she was going back to work and that she was thinking about going back to school.”

For many people that face the prospect of becoming blind, there is a fear – especially if they’re the main provider for the family – of what will happen to their loved ones. This anxiety amplifies as their sight continues to degrade.

Operations

Last year Sightsavers distributed more than 15 million Neglected Tropical Disease treatments, screened over 45,000 people for refractive error, performed 4,300 cataract operations and trained more than 29,000 community drug distributors.

Ms McElwee said the support they have received so far has been incredible, saying: “The support, especially towards Christmas time, people have been so generous and are being so generous, that makes a huge difference.”

Their Million Miracles campaign aims to reach €1 million, another €152,000 is needed to achieve their goal, which they hope to reach by the end of the year.

Earlier this month the charity celebrated their one billionth treatment for Neglected Tropical Diseases in Croke Park.