An Inspiring Story from Kenya
Since 2013, Embracing the World Kenya and Vision Without Borders, Spain have collaborated with local doctors across the country to perform free cataract surgeries. The teams have now completed more than 1,900 procedures, and this year, it happened despite the fact Kenya was under COVID-19 restrictions.> Another milestone—for the first time, some of the surgeries could take place in an operating room instead of a mobile medical camp. A small hospital opened in one of Nairobi’s slums and welcomed the opthamologists, optometrists and nurses. Most of the patients were from the Kikuyu ethnic group, which is the most common in the area, but people also travelled from remote areas such as Kissi, Meru and Mombasa. Some of the patients had been diagnosed with cataracts for a long time, but due to lack of resources, could not afford surgery. Dr Isabel Signes Soler is an optometrist who is one of the project’s organizers. This year, she met a little girl who deeply inspired her out of the hundreds of patients she has met over the years, and so, she shares her experience.