Ghana (MNN)–Visual disabilities and blindness affect hundreds of thousands in impoverished regions. This is true of places like Africa, where 300,000 blind children and 6.5 million blind adults struggle with day to day survival.
International Aid is working to improve the situation for the poor in Ghana and Uganda.
In Ghana, most with visual impairments don’t get treatment due to poverty and the lack of access. International Aid’s Myles Fish. “We’re poised to expand on a number of fronts. One, to expand the number of patients that we’re able to see and the number of clinics that we have right now.”
But growth won’t stop there. He says they can more effectively reach more people who need their help if they cooperate. In light of that, “We’re also poised to be able to support other organizations that have clinics with new research and training on how to manage eye care facilities.”
Fish says their staff shares both physical and spiritual sight. “Everyone who works in our clinic is a follower of Christ. We have reading materials there in the facility–so the people, oftentimes, the first thing they see when the bandages are taken off is Christian literature.”
The literature combined with the care and heart the I-A staff puts into their ministry is symbiotic. “It gives us the opportunity to build a relationship because the patient is just so grateful for what they’ve been given. We oftentimes see people who will make decisions for Christ right there on the spot.”
Ophthalmic volunteers recruited by International Aid have treated 650,000 people and performed 22,000 sight-restoring surgeries in the poorest regions of the world. More skilled volunteers are needed. Click here if you want to help.
