These are not helpless people. They have many of the tools they need to improve their own systems, except financial and human resources.

With this in mind, Operation Eyesight has committed to working collaboratively with local governments and communities for the long-term health and well-being of the countries and their citizens.

Over our organization’s history, we have chosen to embody the concept of the Declaration of Alma-Ata. This international declaration, signed in 1978, emphasizes the importance of primary health care, which the World Health Organization categorizes as “geared toward self-reliance and self-determination.”

An excerpt from the declaration reads, “The people have the right and duty to participate individually and collectively in the planning and implementation of their health care…. Governments have a responsibility for the health of their people which can be fulfilled only by the provision of adequate health and social measures.”

Rather than sending expatriate medical staff to perform eye surgeries in the four African countries – Ghana, Kenya, Zambia and Rwanda – where we work, Operation Eyesight made a conscious decision to collaborate with local governments and citizens at community, regional and national levels.

We chose to not simply fund cataract surgeries; instead, we manage a comprehensive range of all levels of eye care, from training community workers to building or refurbishing hospital infrastructure.

We collaborate with local public health, water and sanitation departments and with ministries of health. The outcome? Supported, expanded and improved health systems. Such partnerships encourage the ownership and participation of communities, regions and countries that is crucial to sustainable development.

Return next week to learn about our goal for our work in Africa, and its long-reaching implications. Read more in our Winter newsletter about how we work “narrower and deeper” in these countries.

The post Options are available to help developing African countries (Part 1 of 2) appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

I met Mabbula earlier this year while in Hyderabad, where I visited the Rasoolpura slum. Hyderabad may be a glamorous and prosperous place, but like most cities in India, it has large pockets of dire poverty. But here’s the funny thing about India’s slums. Yes, they are squalid and unpleasant, but a slum is not necessarily a dead end. Typically, it is a way-station for people seeking opportunity.

That opportunity came to Mabbula thanks to free training, made possible by Operation Eyesight donors.

This bright young woman serves as the vision technician at the eye clinic in Rasoolpura. When she was a child, her family took full advantage of what education was available in the slum, and Mabbula excelled.

But regardless of her education, she might have lived her life in poverty if she hadn’t learned about the opportunity to be trained at the LV Prasad Eye Institute (LVP), also in Hyderabad. She faced stiff competition for a place in the class, and she had to work hard throughout the accelerated three-month training program. The fact that she is female made the process even more challenging, but she did it.

Mabbula is very good at her job. Not only has she been well-trained, she is part of a network of support and professional development opportunities, with LVP at the hub.

But perhaps most important of all, she is already acquainted with the people who come to her – she’s one of them. They are comfortable discussing their health issues and she gives them information and advice which serves to prevent eye problems in the first place. She is helping her community to be free of avoidable blindness.

When I met with Mabbula, she smiled a lot – it was clear that she is thrilled with her job and very appreciative for the changes in her life. She in turn is helping to change the lives of struggling people around her. To the generous donors who give to Operation Eyesight and made all this possible, Mabbula says thanks.

Vision technicians like Mabbula are desperately needed throughout India. Their ability to provide primary eye care through diagnosis and basic treatment is the foundation of an effective eye health system. You can provide training for someone like Mabbula – visit our online Gift Guide today to learn how.

The post Free training transforms a young woman’s life appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

If you’re a senior reading this or a grandparent (like I am), you probably already know how important it is to safeguard your vision. If you’re a younger person, take note.

Statistics show that the world’s population is aging, and as the number of older people grows, eye health issues like low vision and blindness become acute. Visual impairment often contributes to injuries and death in older people, but timely intervention can delay the effects of age-related blinding conditions.

For those of us living in wealthy nations like Canada, our health care systems include eye care as part of the package. For you and me, the major threat as we grow older is cataract (clouding of the lens), followed by age-related macular degeneration (loss of central vision), which is a growing problem. For these and other vision threats, help is available to us as long as we’re paying attention to our health.

But that isn’t the case in many counties, especially throughout Africa where primary eye care just isn’t a priority. This is one of the areas where Operation Eyesight is at work, encouraging national governments in Africa to include plans for eye care in their national health strategies.

Globally, blindness among seniors is a major health issue. The World Health Organization estimates that the number of people in the world who are blind or visually impaired is 285 million.

Of those, 65 percent are over the age of 50. Imagine how tragic it must be like to be blind and poor – and old!

The risk of vision-impairing conditions like cataract grows exponentially with increasing age. Because the majority of cataract blindness is in people ages 45 and up, there are many grandparents in developing countries who have never even seen their grandchildren. Children are often affected because they get pulled out of school to serve as the “eyes” for a blind grandparent.

For more success stories like this, visit our website. Thanks for reading … and remember not to take your eyesight for granted!

The post Seniors – keep an eye on your eyes appeared first on Operation Eyesight.