A recent humanitarian initiative has successfully provided free eye surgeries to 263 impoverished people in Samburu County, Kenya. Most patients were members of the semi-nomadic Samburu Tribe. They are mainly engaged in the rearing of livestock with a lifestyle deeply linked to the cycles of nature. However, their lives have been hit hard by several droughts in recent years. Many suffer from cataracts and other vision impairments, exacerbated by malnutrition and poor sanitation.
The surgeries took place at Kisima [KISS-ee-mah] Hospital from October 4th to 13th, as part of a collaboration with the Spanish NGO Visió Sense Fronteres [VIZ-ee-yoh SEN-su fron-TERR-ess] and Honourable Pauline Lenguris [len-GYUR-is], the Samburu County Representative for Women, Govt of Kenya. Everyone participated as volunteers.
Overall, Amma’s cataract surgery project is committed to offering free operations across Sub-Saharan Africa. Since 2011, it has provided more than 9,350 free surgeries and distributed 36,850 pairs of eyeglasses. Volunteers have reached people in slums and remote tribal areas in Kenya, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Cameroon, Zambia, and Burkina Faso.
