In collaboration with the Spanish organization Visió Sense Fronteres (Vision Without Borders), Embracing the World was invited to conduct another cataract surgery campaign in Africa. The Ophthalmological Department of Zambia’s Ministry of Health supported the initiative, and 140 procedures took place at the provincial hospital of Kabwe in the north of the country.
This was the third camp organized in Zambia and 140 operations were performed by our team at the provincial hospital of Kabwe, located to the north of the country.
Our team consisted of two ophthalmologists, one operating room nurse, two optometrists, and one theater volunteer. In addition, there were two local specialists in ophthalmology and a couple of translators.
All the patients who attended the camp had visual acuity of less than 10%. Most of them could only see light perception or hand movement, which showed how advanced the cataract was. Though most of the interventions were for cataracts, we also performed capsulotomies and pterygiums during the camp.
A 14-year-old boy (pictured above), who had an accident a week before the camp began, was operated on to cleanse the blood in the anterior chamber. He had not received any medical care and could have easily lost his eyesight had he not received the treatment. The smiles on the faces of the patients after the surgeries conveyed the gratitude and happiness they all felt in their hearts towards the team and organization. The efforts put in to organize the camp by our volunteers and well-wishers in Zambia was really inspiring.
