A quarter of a million people in South Sudan are blind...

Restoring Sight in South Sudan...

South Sudan is a country with some of the worst health statistics in the world and services for the blind are virtually non-existent.

More than 90% of the world's visually impaired live in developing countries, and South Sudan has some of the highest blindness rates. Underlying diseases causing blindness and visual impairment, that have been largely eradicated in other post-conflict countries, are epidemic in South Sudan.  The prevalence rate of blindness is about 3 times greater than other East African countries. There is only one functioning eye center with an opthalmologist serving serving a population of 9 million people. (WHO, The World Health Organization, recommends one ophthalmologist for every 400,000 people.) For every blind person, an average of 5 family members are affected, as the struggle for survival in one of the poorest agrarian countries in the world is shared by everyone. Blind heads of households cannot provide for their families, and blind and severely visually impaired children cannot go to school.
Cataracts are the primary cause of preventable blindness in South Sudan, and Onchocerciasis (river blindness) the second. River Blindness has been almost eliminated in 16 other African countries, yet it remains out of control in South Sudan. It can be eradicated whole villages and communities taking medication to stop larvae from an adult worm, which is transmitted by a black fly bite, from hatching under the skin and eventually attacking the retina. River blindness has become a major problem, as communities could not be reached during the war to take medicines simultaneously every 10-15 years - the life cycle of the adult worm.

Trachoma, caused by cramped and poor living conditions and a lack of clean water, is the secondary major cause of blindness. Less than 10% of the population has access to clean water.

Cataracts can be corrected with relatively simple surgery by an opthalmalogist. 

The other major cause of blindness and visual impairment is refractory problems, which can be easily assessed and corrected by trained eye care specialists who can provide affordable corrective lenses. 
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that, globally, up to 75% of all blindness is avoidable. However, in Sudan most people do not have access to health care or education about the importance of annual eye examinations to maintain sight. Poverty, inadequate healthcare and the lack of a supply of available eyeglasses renders adequate vision unattainable to most of the population. Health is the centerpiece of development and the alleviation of poverty for returning refugees - therefore, efforts to eliminate avoidable blindness among these poorest of the poor is a moral imperative.

The restoration of sight to people with vision problems is an important step toward empowering the Sudanese people. Restoring a person's sight can enable him or her to hold a job and contribute to feeding and housing a family. It can also mean that a person can participate more fully in society, and enjoy seeing the world around them and be able to read.

Operation Nehemiah's "Sight for the South Sudan" program is responding to the need...

Operation Nehemiah Missions (www.Operationsnehemiah.org), in cooperation with "Infocus" (www.infocusonline.org), a non-profit organization that empowers communities worldwide to improve eye health and eliminate preventable blindness, will provide training and logistical support to help people in Southern Sudan provide for their own eye health and vision care needs. We have been doing Eye Care Outreaches since 2007, and our plan is to establish "Vision Stations" in the capitol, Juba, and in rural areas of
Eastern Equatoria. Families can receive eye exams, quality eye glasses at affordable prices and referral for treatment of underlying medical conditions. We will arrange for cataract surgeries to be done during short term medical mission trips to our clinic in Borongole. We will train community members to serve as eye care specialists serving in our outpatient clinic in and our Mobile Medical Unit. Using equipment available through In focus, trained nationals will be able to assess for refractive errors in vision and provide eyeglasses. They may use the proceeds of spectacle sales to defray operating costs and support themselves and their families. We will be able to provide eyeglasses at about 5% of retail cost in U.S. dollars.

The cost of equipping each Vision Station is approximately $3,500.00. Please consider supporting a Sudanese Christian by giving him the opportunity to serve his community and provide for his family! Click on the "Donate Today" button on the right, or sending a check (note "Vision Station")  to;

Nehemiah Medical Missions
57 McKinley Terrace
Pittsfield, MA 01201