Johan Claassen is the project manager of the Aid to Africa project. He regularly shares inspiring stories from their outreaches to remote villages. The project is a Doctors For Life International (DFL) project that is restoring the sight of people from remote villages—one precious soul at a time…
Johan said, “One of the women told us during our outreaches that she could not go to the toilet, cook, or go to the hospital alone. And these are just some of the everyday tasks that she struggled with. She only has two children, and when they leave for the day, she has to remain alone at home, unable to do much for herself.”
In general, members of vulnerable communities experience greater risk factors and worse access to healthcare. They are dependent on the goodwill of initiatives such as the Aid to Africa programme, which aims to help, uplift, and support these vulnerable communities deprived of healthcare and other services.
The team once organized an exceptionally challenging but outstanding, fruitful outreach to Botswana. Botswana has only three government ophthalmologists to care for the country’s needs. There is a great need for assistance and a mounting backlog of blind patients needing cataract surgery. In the past, other countries supported Botswana, but there is currently no support for these patients.
“One of our patients, Qumma Tsaa, was blind in one eye,” says Johan Claassen. “He was very excited and so thankful to be able to see again. He said he struggled to perform his duties properly and was eager to return home and work. It was a joy to listen to him speak in his native language as he shared his stories with us in an animated way. He did not know his age, and his ID card merely showed xx/xx/1958. His friend, Tjetjex, also came from Ghanzi, received eye surgery, and translated Qumma’s story into Afrikaans! His birthdate was also unknown to him; his ID showed 01/01/1960.
“We took the time to get to know some of the patients. One of the older nurses invited us to share a message with the patients waiting outside to be helped before they started the screening process. Their singing was beautiful and touched our hearts.”
Despite all our challenges in South Africa, we still have so much to be thankful for. We have to display more gratitude for what we receive, and we can also contribute to the Aids to Africa outreaches. Visit their website to learn how. Every small contribution makes a difference.
Read the full story in our sister publication, Devoted, Issue 33 online: www.devotedmag.co.za
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