Togo Eye Screening

Over 1,100 people wrapped around a Togolese church on the first day of eye screenings for the Mercy Ships Field Service in Togo, West Africa. They had a common purpose - the hope of restoring or improving their eyesight. That hope was focused on the eye clinic operated by the Africa Mercy volunteer crew and staff.

By the third week, potential patients were still pouring into the screenings. Eye screenings are held four times a week - Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday - at different locations. Approximately 250 people are screened each day, and about 10% of those are scheduled for surgery.

Conducting the eye screenings are Bob Hicks, Eye Specialist, and Alana Abernathy, Field Eye Team Coordinator. An estimated 30,000 potential patients will be screened in the 2010 Togo Field Service, with approximately 3,000 scheduled for eye surgery.

Screeners specifically look for several eye conditions. Cataracts (the leading cause of blindness in developing countries) cause a clouding in the lens of the eye. Another eye disease is pterygium, a non-cancerous growth that forms a layer over the white part of the eye. Screeners also look for patients who are experiencing extreme pain or have deformities of the eye. These patients will be scheduled for surgery to remove the eye and replace it with a prosthetic eye.

While screenings continue in Lomé, eye surgeries are already taking place onboard the Africa Mercy . In the first two weeks of field service, Dr Glenn Strauss performed 76 surgeries to remove cataracts and three surgeries for pterygium.

In addition to the screeners, the eye team includes administrative personnel, who schedule selected patients for surgery, and eight translators. The translators not only assist in communication, but also some of them will be trained to perform vision tests. The eye team also distributes sunglasses to protect the eyes of the patients from the intense African sun; they distributed 717 pairs in the first two weeks.

Sometimes patients cannot be helped with treatment or surgery. But they are given the opportunity for counseling and prayer with the Africa Mercy crew.

Yes, thousands have gathered, and there are more to come, as Mercy Ships delivers hope and healing to eye patients during the Togo Field Service.

Story: Mercy Ships 2010