Footprints Project
Since 2005, travelers like you have helped us change the world through micro-donations.
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A total of
10062
Travelers
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donated
$24487.31
(100% funded) -
to help improve
Health
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in
Nepal
This project ran from 9th – 13th Oct 2009 during which a surgical team of 9 staff led by Dr Raba Thapa and Dr Chandani Pradhan performed surgical operations and examined patients in Tatopani, Sindhu district.
Project overview
Tatopani village is one of the remote places of Sindhu District near the border between Nepal and Tibet Autonomous Region (China). It is a hilly village and the majority of the people living in the area are poor and have no access to health facilities.
The outreach department of Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology coordinated an Outreach Micro-surgical Eye Clinic in partnership with Sindhu Community Eye Centre. This project brings affordable eye health resources to patients in this region.
- Screening camps were conducted in two different areas; patients were screened for cataract and other eye disease
- Refractive error, presbyopia correction and simple eye alignments were arranged for patients not requiring surgery
- Cataract patients were identified and re-examined before surgery so that their visual acuity would increase after sur- gery
The local school building rooms were prepared and set-up for necessary surgery
- After surgery patients were kept for 2 days for observation and treatment at the school
- Patients received post-operative checks within 4 weeks of their surgery
Project Outcomes and Challenges
A total of 1,522 people received eye health screening tests. The Fred Hollows Foundation provided sight restoring surgery to a total of 96 patients of which 89% were over 60 years old.
Although there were harsh conditions given the challenging and remote location, the surgical team delivered and performed the surgeries effectively.
Future of this Project:
The Fred Hollows Foundation will continue to work with the local team at Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology to identify remote areas in Nepal where patients will need eye care and organise eye camps to conduct surgeries to treat patients with cataract. We will return for future eye camps at Sindhu, in our effort to end avoidable blindness.
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