Rotary Restores Sight to 1500 Patients in Lagos
Mary Ekah
Rotary Club of Lagos Palm Grove Estate, Nigeria, (Rotary District 9110) recently collaborated with various organisations such as Indo Eye Care Foundation; Rotary International, Rotary Club of Charlotte Hill, USA (Rotary Dist.7620), Rotary Club of Bangalore Sadashivanagar, India (Rotary Dist.3190), the Indian community in Nigeria and the Ministry of Health, Lagos State to restore back sights to over 1500 patients including an eight-month-old baby during its Mission for Vision 2017-18 carried out at the General Hospital, Lagos.
The Mission for Vision 2017-18 is planned to conduct 1400 free cataract operations for those suffering from preventable blindness and lack the financial recourses to finance the surgery. Till the 2nd of March, the mission had completed 1100 surgeries. The list includes disabled persons, senior citizens as well as well over 25 children, including eight months old baby boy, Brainard, who was among the patients that were successfully operated under different categories of free eye surgery sponsored by the various organisations collaborating in the project.
In its 10th year, the programme is spear headed by the Rotary Club of Lagos Palm Grove Estate Lagos. In an effort to broad base the programme and make it more inclusive, the club invited all Rotary Clubs in Rotary district 9110 to conduct eye screening camps, during which 22 clubs responded and shortlisted about 2300 persons that required cataract surgery and after conducting all necessary pre-surgery examinations, the team of surgeons shortlisted the patients to be operated upon. This pre-surgery examination was conducted at the specialty eye hospital being built by the Indo Eye Care Foundation along International Airport Road, Lagos. While the surgeries are being conducted at the Lagos State General Hospital, Marina, Lagos.
The Rotary Club of Lagos Palm Grove Estate is one of Nigeria’s premier institutions dedicated to serving humanity. Beside the Mission for Vision, the club also does various other activities. Partnering with the Hindu Mandir Foundation and the Indian Community, the clubs supports artificial limb centre that provides free artificial limbs to the financially challenged and the physically handicapped.