Training Teachers in Ethiopia to Save Sight

Nearly two million people around the world are blind or have visual impairment due to trachoma, a painful bacterial eye infection. If left untreated, trachoma can lead to trichiasis, an even more excruciating and severe condition. Thanks to you more people in Ethiopia are free from the pain and fear of trachoma—thank you!

Ten years ago, Amarech started to feel excruciating pain in both of her eyes. She noticed that opening and closing her eyes was becoming extremely uncomfortable. To reduce the pain, she was using a local eyelash-picking material called ‘worento’ for temporary relief. But Amarech’s untreated eye condition was starting to have more serious long-term effects. She became hypersensitive towards the light, couldn’t work, and stopped seeing friends and family.

As someone who had been very proud of her work—preparing a local drink called ‘Cheka’—Amarech was left feeling defeated and unable to provide her family with the income they needed. Her son pitched in to help by working longer days on the family farm. But his studies suffered as a result, and the family knew this couldn’t be a long-term solution.

Another woman in a nearby community, Beyenech, was also suffering from the same symptoms. Like Amarech, she also had to stop attending social gatherings and couldn’t do her daily work on the family farm. Beyenech had tried medications she received from nearby health facilities, but there was no improvement.

Thanks to Orbis supporters like you, Amarech and Beyenech were both visited by a case finder named Ato who had been trained by Orbis. Because many people are confined to their homes due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Orbis has been conducting door-to-door visits to ensure people who need eye care can still receive it.

During the visits to the homes of Amarech and Beyenech, Ato saw that both women were suffering from trichiasis, caused by repeat trachoma infections. Ato referred each of them to a nearby health centre where they could receive the surgery they needed. Both women were at risk of losing their sight altogether if they didn’t receive treatment fast.

Trachoma is one of those most prevalent Neglected Tropical Diseases and a major focus of Orbis’s work around the globe, particularly in rural Ethiopia, where the condition persists, and eye care can be difficult to access. With your continued support, our goal is to eliminate this leading cause of blindness around the world. 

Following Ato’s advice, Amarech and Beyenech received bilateral surgery on their upper eyelids, and the procedures were very successful. Both women are thrilled to be able to see clearly again. Now, they are able to work, provide for their families, and socialize free of fear and pain!

The pandemic severely impacted eye health services in Ethiopia. And after months of restrictions, Orbis partner hospitals and clinics were able to resume our eye health services. But we faced challenges in adaptation, both in health facilities and in community outreach programmes, so we could operate in a Covid-secure manner. 

It wasn’t until the final quarter of 2020 when we were in the position to fully begin supporting eye health facilities so trachoma trichiasis and cataract surgery and other services could be provided.

Unfortunately, if someone's eye condition is not identified early enough, it can lead to irreversible visual impairment or even blindness – which in turn can create a cycle of social exclusion, emotional trauma and economic hardship. 

In Ethiopia, specialist skills and knowledge of eye health is in demand and Orbis needs to be there to provide those skills. We need to work with governments, schools, communities and eye health professionals to screen and treat those who need us, to create brighter futures.

Shemsedin is a farmer from southern Ethiopia. He watched his grandparents lose their sight due to trachoma and, at that time, nothing could be done to help them. His generation, and that of his 11-month-old daughter, have been spared the same fate through the educational efforts of Orbis, and the medicine and treatment they provide within his village.

Shemsedin and his daughter, Hamdia, both received the antibiotic to prevent trachoma infection during a house-to-house mass drug administration programme by Orbis. They were just two of almost a million people who received the drug in the area.  

The past 18 months brought new health challenges to this community in the form of the Covid-19 pandemic. Thanks to the hygiene education and initiatives put in place by Orbis, Shemsedin feels more prepared for tackling trachoma and Covid-19.

"In the past, our parents struggled with their vision because of trachoma. Most of us have some family members who lost their eyesight." Shemsedin

We’re only able to continue reaching people like Shemsedin and his daughter, particularly amid the pandemic, thanks to the incredible support we receive.