Mercy Vision Zithulele
Line of patients waiting to be seen at the clinic
Imagine having such painful eyes that your vision is impaired. Eye drops and the right medication is all that is needed to restore quality of vision and therefore quality of life, but there is nowhere to get these.
Imagine knowing that your poor vision could be rectified simply by getting a pair of prescription glasses but not having the money to pay for the transport to get to the eye clinic in Mthatha and nowhere near enough to purchase a pair of glasses.
Imagine your world slowly getting more and more blurry and dark as the cataracts grow over your eyes.
These are some of the heart-breaking stories that are all too common in our region and up until now there was nothing we could do about it.
Mercy Ships South Africa, in their first ever land based operation, have teamed up with the Eastern Cape Department of Health and Jabulani to start an exciting new initiative: Mercy Vision Zithulele.
The aim of this project is to reduce the prevalence of blindness and poor vision arising from uncorrected refractive error, cataracts, glaucoma and other eye diseases. Working in the villages and clinics around Zithulele, the project is reaching people who have never before received any form of eye care.
What makes this project so motivating, is the immediate impact that can be made on a person's life. People walk into the clinics not being able to see, and walk out with a new view of the world! This feeds our motivation for other projects, where the real impact will only be seen further down the line.
Since its start on the 17th of September 2012, 40 venues have been visited with 953 routine eye examinations conducted. Over 400 ready-made glasses have been given out and 63 prescription glasses ordered. The first cataract surgeries are scheduled for early 2013.
Imagine knowing that your poor vision could be rectified simply by getting a pair of prescription glasses but not having the money to pay for the transport to get to the eye clinic in Mthatha and nowhere near enough to purchase a pair of glasses.
Imagine your world slowly getting more and more blurry and dark as the cataracts grow over your eyes.
These are some of the heart-breaking stories that are all too common in our region and up until now there was nothing we could do about it.
Mercy Ships South Africa, in their first ever land based operation, have teamed up with the Eastern Cape Department of Health and Jabulani to start an exciting new initiative: Mercy Vision Zithulele.
The aim of this project is to reduce the prevalence of blindness and poor vision arising from uncorrected refractive error, cataracts, glaucoma and other eye diseases. Working in the villages and clinics around Zithulele, the project is reaching people who have never before received any form of eye care.
What makes this project so motivating, is the immediate impact that can be made on a person's life. People walk into the clinics not being able to see, and walk out with a new view of the world! This feeds our motivation for other projects, where the real impact will only be seen further down the line.
Since its start on the 17th of September 2012, 40 venues have been visited with 953 routine eye examinations conducted. Over 400 ready-made glasses have been given out and 63 prescription glasses ordered. The first cataract surgeries are scheduled for early 2013.
Eye exams taking place!