Orant Improves Eye Health in Rural Malawi
Orant improves eye health in rural Malawi
For 51 year old Billiat Bauzalla from Mphamba Village in Dowa, the knowledge that he nearly lost his sight is a serious thought. Here, he shares his story of how the Orant eye clinic made the difference in his sight and in his life.
Billiat began experiencing a problem with his eyes in 2018 which continued to worsen until 2021 when he lost his sight completely.
“One day in 2018, I woke up feeling pain in my left eye. This pain got worse everyday until I slowly started losing sight. Whenever I visited hospitals, I was only given eye drops and medication that relieved the pain for just a few days,” narrates Billiat.
Billiat shared that by early 2021, both his eyes were affected to the extent that he completely lost his sight.
“I slowly started to lose my sight until one morning I realized I could not see anything. My life completely changed and it was hard for me as I could not walk or do anything on my own,” says Billiat. His only hope was to find a nearby clinic that might be able to treat his condition.
Billiat visited Kasese Health Centre in 2021, where he was diagnosed with cataracts and was referred to Kasungu Hospital for surgery.
Access to eye clinic services is a great challenge to people in rural Malawi
Access to eye clinic services remains a great challenge to most people living in rural Malawi. This is because such services are not available at the health clinics that are available in rural areas. And in cases where they are available, they are too expensive for an average Malawian, whose income comes from piecework and subsistence farming.
Every last Wednesday of the month, we outsource a clinician from Saint Andrew’s Mission Hospital, who comes to Kasese Health Center in Dowa to assist all patients with eye conditions. The services include:
- Free examinations
- Diabetes screening
- Cataract screening
- Eye infection treatments
Those who require surgeries are referred to Kasungu Hospital and we provide for their transportation costs, eyeglasses, and medicine, while costs for the surgery are covered by the hospital. Orant’s eye clinics provide vital services for those who may not be able to travel to a larger hospital on their own, or who live too far away to receive regular medical care.
Orant has treated 1,057 eye patients since January 2021
We began seeing patients for the eye clinic in 2017, and since 2021, we have treated 1,057 people!
We are always grateful to our donors who make this important work possible. We also thank our faithful staff and our partners at Saint Andrew’s Mission Hospital who ensure that patients receive the treatment they need!
