Touch of Light

This summer 6 doctors and 8 nurses flew out to Ghana from the UK on a charitable expedition named 'Project Touch of Light'. Their aim was to restore sight to as many individuals within a 2 week period, predominantly by performing cataract surgery.

The team were based in Ho, within the Volta region of Ghana, where 1 in 20 people are blind. Of these blind people 80% have preventable or treatable causes for their blindness, with cataracts being the major cause. There has been no resident Ophthalmic Surgeon for over 2 years at Volta Regional Hospital, the nearest hospital with functioning eye care facilities was over 2 hours away reached by poor roads and not accessible to many of the poor and blind from this region.

Two months prior to the arrival of the Touch of Light UK team, radio announcements were made on all stations informing the public of the forthcoming eye camp. The campaign was extended to schools, villages and towns in the region and encouraged the visually impaired and blind to attend the screening programme run by local Ophthalmic nurses at Volta Regional Hospital. In communities such as this, those that are blind are not only unable to care for themselves but are also a considerable burden on their families such that family members who care for blind relatives are themselves unable to work for food.

On Sunday 5th July 2009, 'Project Touch of Light' was formally launched by the Regional Minister and Director of Health. Four local Ghanaian doctors and seven local nurses from surrounding districts joined the UK team at Volta Regional Hospital in Ho. One of our principal goals was to work with local partners to train eye care personnel at all levels, in order to manage and educate patients in the future, and this goal was met successfully. Working with our partners in Ghana, we helped to:

Screen 3677 patients
Carry out 202 sight-restoring cataract operations
Provide training to 4 local doctors and 7 nurses
Donate £25,000 of specialist equipment to further facilitate eye care

There were three operating tables in use over the two-week eye camp, however, the equipment was very basic and one of the operating microscopes was of extremely poor quality. In addition, by the end of the second week equipment was low, including medication, lenses and blades. Ensuring adequate equipment and improving the standard of service is a key responsibility for healthcare providers. It is imperative to build up sustainable infrastructures in these communities to enable safe and effective surgery. Patients who have undergone successful treatment will return to their village and tell people about it, making others with cataract willing to undergo similar operations.

On behalf of Touch of Light UK, we would like to thank all the sponsors and supporters of the charity. Your contribution has led to the gift of sight for hundreds of Ghanaians, previously condemned to a life in darkness. Without your very generous donation, this trip would not have been possible and our goals would not have been reached.

We want to continue providing a brighter future to some of the poorest people in the Developing World, and we urge you to continue to support Touch of Light. It is our hope that for our next visit to Ghana, planned for June 2010, we will be able to purchase enough supplies and replace the substandard equipment. For this reason we would be incredibly grateful for any financial help that you are able to provide towards this very worthy cause. Please visit our Donations page.

Thank you again for all your support.