An ophthalmology office, where volunteers will work – ophthalmologists and optometrists from Poland – has been opened in Abong – Mbang in Cameroon. As the initiators of the action emphasize, the need for such help is huge there.
The clinic was created as part of the Ophthalmologists for Africa campaign, thanks to the help of Polish missionaries, individual donors from all over Poland and companies – from medical to travel.
Last year, an ophthalmologist from Bielsko-Biała, Dr. Iwona Filipecka, examined the eyesight of over 1700 children from Cameroon and 100 adults. Then she organized a collection of glasses for Africans in Poland.
The main goal of the current, second mission of Ophthalmologists for Africa was to create an ophthalmology office from scratch. It includes an autorefractometer for computerized eye examination and a slit lamp for examining the anterior part of the eye. Doctors also have at their disposal a speculum for fundus diagnostics, a spectacle cassette for the selection of glasses and ophthalmic tables for adults and children. The value of the completed equipment is nearly PLN 10. zloty.
Apart from “Dentists from Africa” by Konrad Rylski and Szymon Chełstowski, Nazariusz’s sister, who has been running a clinic in Cameroon for 12 years, and the local community helped in the organization of the office. “Everyone reacted very enthusiastically to our arrival. There was no shortage of people willing to help. Nurses and clinic staff helped. Local boys were carrying equipment. As soon as the priest announced in the church on Sunday that the ophthalmologists and dentists had arrived, the calls for the mission would stop. There were calls from various places asking if we are already operating, because there are patients, ”Filipecka said on Thursday.
One of the main obstacles Polish specialists have to deal with now are power outages. This made it difficult not only to check whether the mounted devices were damaged during transport and work, but also to examine the first patient.
It is currently difficult to say how many people will be able to be tested during the current expedition, which is expected to last until October 11. Part of the research may also be thwarted by the ongoing rainy season, which is extremely troublesome this year. It rains daily, long and hard, making it difficult for patients to reach the office. “In such rain, no one comes to the clinic. Children don’t go to school, people don’t come to church. Rivers flow through the streets, ”Filipecka said.
In her free time from admitting patients, Filipecka trains Sister Nazaria from the Congregation of the Soul of Christ. Together, it was decided that she would learn the basics of ophthalmology, and in particular the selection of glasses.
“When we leave and before the next ophthalmologist arrives, she will be able to choose glasses and distribute the ones that we brought from Poland. And it is also possible to make glasses in Poland and send them to Cameroon. The fact that Africans need our old glasses is evidenced by the fact that out of 15 people who were examined in one day – 12 got glasses ”- emphasized Filipecka. (PAP)