The Doctors for Life International (DFL) volunteer teams’ work is profound, especially during their Aid to Africa outreaches. They save many lives during these outreaches and positively impact the lives of countless vulnerable patients by restoring their sight and dignity. Stories like this highlight the team’s efforts, especially during hard times. And we think you appreciate success stories so much more when you know the story behind the story, don’t you?
Cataract surgery is one of the safest surgical procedures in medicine, with a high success rate, allowing the dedicated DFL teams to do successful outreaches that profoundly save and change lives. The DFL health community outreach provides access to medical consultation and healthcare for vulnerable communities without the cost to the patients who are the poorest of the poor. Over the years, the DFL teams have successfully restored vision to countless blind people from vulnerable communities through their Aid to Africa outreach programme.
An outreach to Botswana a few years back was a challenge for many reasons, and the fact that it was so successful is no small milestone – the team saw many miracles.
Johan Claassen is the project leader who coordinates the logistics for the outreaches to Africa. He said, “People’s reaction after successful cataract surgery is priceless. Their gratitude has no end and reminds us why it is better to give than receive. When their eye pads are removed, some of the women are so happy to be able to see again—they clap their hands in appreciation, and one of them said, ‘God is great!’
“Some of the patients reacted very emotionally. When a woman named Mmasello’s eye pad was removed, she started to cry. She said she cried because she could not see before, ‘But now I can see.’ Her face was beaming when she told us she became blind in one eye about three years ago and then completely blind in both eyes about two years later. She said she waited a long time to be operated on because, although she had been booked for surgery, they (the local hospital) did not have the medicines and materials needed for the operation.
“She told us she was once almost bitten by a snake. The snake passed by her, but she could not see it. A child came to her aid and shouted, ‘There is a snake,’ and then the snake was killed. She then said, ‘I, therefore, thank God to be able to see properly now.’
“Mmasello lives a simple life. At home, she used to do piece jobs, as the locals call it. She also collected refuse for an income. Thankfully, her husband and two children seemed to have cared for her while she was blind. Before her husband went to work, he would give her water to bathe, and when he returned, he continued to assist her. She said that she would cry after returning home when she saw her husband’s face, something she could not do for a long time.”
Read the full story in our sister publication, Devoted, Issue 33 online: www.devotedmag.co.za
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