From Blindness to Independence: Restoring Sight in The Gambia
- Mar 17
- 3 min read
As part of our stories marking International Women’s Day this month, we are highlighting the life-changing impact of access to healthcare for women and communities around the world.
SIDCN member, Cataracts Are Curable, have funded more than 2,000 cataract operations in The Gambia since 2019 and we’re grateful to them for sharing more about their work with us this month.
Discovering the hidden impact of blindness
Some years ago, while working with an educational charity in the UK, I noticed a pattern: some sponsored children were regularly absent from school.
I was shocked to learn these young people were being kept home to care for blind relatives. Cataract blindness in The Gambia was widespread.
Cataract blindness means a person may be unable to count fingers in front of their eyes or see hand movements; some cannot even distinguish light from dark. The implications for safety and independence are enormous. Many families cook on the ground and live in crowded homes. Someone who is blind may struggle to move safely or even visit the lavatory alone.
Addressing the cataract backlog
Sightsavers worked in The Gambia up to 2013, training nurse practitioners and providing equipment for cataract operations. However, the system began to falter, creating a “cataract backlog.”
Individuals can be examined free at the main eye hospital but must pay for surgery and aftercare. The cost of this is roughly the same as a 50kg bag of rice. An impossible choice for poverty-stricken families.
In 2019 my husband and I established Cataracts Are Curable, a charity dedicated to providing cataract operations for those who cannot pay. We began raising funds for 50-person “cataract camps”, working through the National Eye Health Programme at the Sheikh Zayed Regional Eye Care Centre in Kanifing. To date, more than 2,000 cataract operations have been funded.
Prevention and early treatment
Conjunctivitis is rife, and of course without education, it is difficult to understand how it is contracted and how it is spread and therefore how to avoid it. An infection means that many youngsters are left to literally ‘scrub’ at their irritated eyes which can result in damaging the shape of the eyeball and thus affect their sight. This can lead to myopia and the need for spectacles simply to see the whiteboard. Many classrooms exceed 60 pupils, and spectacles, though inexpensive, are rarely purchased – and much of this suffering is preventable.
Lives transformed overnight
A quick operation can transform a life. Overnight, someone regains vision, independence, and dignity.
I met one such patient, Fatoumatta, at a camp in Soma. The day after her surgery, her bandage removed, she came to find me with a nurse who translated. She said,
“See this dress? I have never, ever seen these colours. I am so happy I want to dance for you.”
She then began to dance. The memory of her joyous smile will stay with me forever.
Recently, the team identified a 41-year-old man who was totally blind in one eye and could only perceive light in the other. The team advised him to travel 200 miles to the main hospital in Kanifing. As he needed accompanying, he said the journey was impossible.
Cataracts Are Curable paid the taxi fare for him and his wife - just £6. After surgery, he could see well enough to return to work. A small cost, but a life-changing result.
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