By Diane Weatherup | Development Director
Back in 2011, ORBIS Ireland travelled to Konso, southern Ethiopia and we met with Mamite Kagnew. Mamite had been suffering in excruciating pain as her trachoma infection gradually got worse. With her sight deteriorating rapidly, she was unable to work or contribute to the family's income and began to feel like a burden. Mamite was lucky enough to meet with Gedensho Gemeda, an ORBIS-trained eye care worker. Her condition was diagnosed immediately and Gedensho performed a simple yet highly effective sight-saving surgery on Mamite at the local health centre.
Last November we travelled back to Konso and met with Mamite once more. To our delight, she was fit and healthy and there was no sign of trachoma infection. Moreover, she has become an advocate for sight in her own community. With thanks to some basic information on the importance of hand and face washing given to her by ORBIS staff, Mamite was able to spread the word and play her own part in reducing the rate of transmission in her community.
Mamite is just one of thousands of people who have suffered with trachoma in the past. With thanks to our supporters, people just like her can have their life back too. ORBIS is continuing in the battle to eliminate trachoma and seeing Mamite greet us with open arms proves that we are making real progress. Thank you for your support!
Links:
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
