Ophthalmology Equipments for MHCD Eye Clinic
I would like to inform you that we have opened an ophthalmology clinic at our hospital in Luvungi DRC after realising that many people die every day in DRC from eye complications and diseases. Last month, there was a mother who was suffering from an eye disease, and when her eyes became very sore, she went to see a neighbour to ask for advice and the neighbour told her to put petrol in her eyes as medicine. She went to the petrol station, bought the petrol and put it in her eyes, immediately she became blind. When she went to hospital after several months, she died after a surgical operation.
This bad news prompted the MHCD mission especially to conduct investigations in Uvira Territory particularly in the villages and rural areas about eye problems. After two months, we realized that there are many people suffering from eye problems (diseases) but they stay at home because they don’t have money to go to the eye clinics for treatment.
In all Uvira Territory we don’t have an Eye surgeon, most of the patients go to Bujumbura Burundi or Bukavu for eye treatment which costs them so much because they spent a lot of money for transport, accommodation, and food and for those who are going to Burundi they need to pay for a special travel document.
In DRC many people live under USD 1 a day, so they cannot afford the money to pay for eye treatment in a foreign country or city like Bukavu.
This is why after having been diagnosed, most of them stay at home and wait for their last day. others use traditional medicines to treat themselves but the results we have is that those traditional medicines destroy their eyes much more.
To solve this problem and bring a permanent solution to those suffering from eye diseases in the region, we opened an ophthalmology (Eye) clinic in Luvungi MHCD hospital in DRC to help the vulnerable people suffering from eye diseases and complications.
Our ophthalmologists work every day from Monday to Saturday from 8:00 am to 5:00pm. They do consultations and treat patients with eye problems especially those who need glasses and medications.
Since we opened the eye clinic, we have managed to treat hundreds of patients and saved lives of many people. In consulting patients, we discovered that about 70% of them suffer from cataract and other eye diseases that need operation, but we don’t have equipment to conduct operations, so all those with complicated problems we transfer them to Bujumbura Burundi but most of them don’t go there because they don’t have money. They go back at home and continue to suffer, by bad luck some of them have lost their lives after suffering for so long especially those who with eye diseases associated with diabetes and other chronic diseases.
At our hospital we have an eye doctor surgeon who is doing operations but because we don’t have the necessary equipment’s that can help him to do operations, we are transferring patients to Bujumbura Burundi.
We are looking for well-wishers who will support us with second hand or help us to purchase new equipment’s.
We are in dire need of the following equipment’s and materials:
- Ophthalmology microscope for surgery
- Auto-Refractometer
- Lensmeter
- Tonometer
- Electric scalpel.
- Ophthalmoscope
- Optical Ophthalmological biometer
- The Trial Lens Set
As we had said earlier on, we have two Ophthalmologists (one is a surgeon, and another is doing general eye consultation and treatment) but because of lack of those equipment’s we transfer all patients who need to be operated and that is not good. Most of them when we transfer them, they go back to their homes and wait for their last days because they can’t afford money to go to Bujumbura Burundi or Bukavu for eye treatment and we feel very bad in our hearts to see that they continue suffering because we don’t have those equipment’s.
I kindly please request you to help us with those equipment’s (new or second hand) as we need them so much at the MHCD hospital (Eye Clinic) in DRC.
Lastly, I would like to inform you that we are in contact with a company in China who are able to provide for us all those new equipment at USD 13,000 about AUD 19,930.
If we can get the funds, we can purchase new equipment in China at reasonable prices and send them directly to DRC.
Please feel free to ask me any questions about the eye treatment program.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Once again thank you very much.
