By Leslie Mulvey | Orbis Intern
Zeritu is a 32-year-old mother of three children from Shosha village in Ethiopia. Her husband is a local farmer and the only breadwinner in the family.
Since she was 8 years old, Zeritu had unhealthy eyes which meant she never attended school and was unable to support her husband on the farm.
Zeritu recalls “My eyes started itching one day for no reason. The next day, when I woke up, both of my eyes were red and sore. When I tried to open my eyes, the brightness of the sunlight caused a lot of pain. When I blinked, the pain was more than I could handle. My parents took me to various traditional healers with the hope of making me feel better, but the hope faded away eventually when none of the traditional healers were able to cure me of the pain or fix my deteriorating vision.”
None of Zeritu's family thought that she was be suffering from Trachomatous Trichiasis, an agonising and blinding eye disease caused by repeated trachoma infections. They were also unaware that it could be treated with a 20-minute surgery.
After many years of pain, suffering, and exclusion from society, Zeritu heard about eye-screening at her local Health Centre. With her husband's help, she walked the four-hour trek from her home to the Health Centre.
She was examined by an Orbis-trained Eye Care Worker and she was found to be suffering from trachomatous trichiasis. Luckily, Zeritu’s eyes could be treated with surgery free of charge.
The next day, after the stitches were removed, Zeritu was thrilled! She had been relieved of the agony, the embarrassing discharge and the fear of sunlight. The years of pain every time she blinked had stopped by a simple 30-minute surgery.
Two months after her surgery, Zeritu's sight was fully restored and she was able to help her husband on the farm and look after her family.
Zeritu says “I can see clearly now. I used to put my hand on the fire or smash my fingers when I try to prepare food for the family. I still have a scar on my left hand. But now my eyes have improved, I can cook for my family. But most importantly I don’t feel any pain anymore! Thank God!”
Thanks for your generous support, Orbis can continue to help people like Zeritu to live a productive and pain-free life.
Thank-you!
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