#GivingTuesday is an annual day of activism that takes place the Tuesday following Thanksgiving. Each year, nonprofit organizations utilize this day to inspire others into the spirit of giving at the start of the holiday season.
This #GivingTuesday, SEE’s Board of Directors is matching all gifts up to $20,000! That means when you donate to our #GivingTuesday campaign, your gift will go twice as far in supporting our sight-restoring work. This includes our education department’s efforts to train medical professionals in the latest eyecare techniques so we can build sustainable eyecare systems worldwide.
Recently, one of SEE’s most trusted partners, Dr. Thomas Baah, hosted a month-long Manual Small Incision Cataract Surgery (MSICS) course in Accra, Ghana, where he trained Nigerian Doctor Egbula Eni in the technique. As the first African doctor to receive MSICS training with SEE’s support, Dr. Eni will be able to take his new knowledge back to his teaching hospital in Nigeria, where he can train others in MSICS and provide patients with higher quality care. Educating ophthalmologists like Dr. Eni in MSICS is crucial to easing the burden of preventable blindness and building more sustainable eyecare systems in areas of need.
“The training means a lot to the institution that I work in,” said Dr. Eni, “it’s my duty when I go back with the new skills I have acquired, to train others so that they will also hone their skills in manual small incision cataract surgery.”
In honor of #GivingTuesday, SEE created this video featuring Dr. Eni and the incredible impacts his training has made on individuals in need so far. During Dr. Eni’s training, he and Dr. Baah performed over 100 sight-restoring surgeries! Among the many patients who had their sight restored was 70-year-old Edward Mensah from Kokomlemle, a small town in the Accra Metropolitan District of Ghana.
Edward works as an electrician and was worried about becoming unable to do his job due to his worsening eyesight. After deciding to seek medical attention, Edward was screened during an outreach mission ran by Dr. Baah’s clinic called “Saving the Nation’s Sight,” which is supported by SEE international. After his first visit, Edward was diagnosed with cataracts and was scheduled for an eye surgery.
“I asked how much money I should bring along, and I was told the surgery would be free of charge. To me, that sounded like manna falling from heaven,” he said.
With his sight restored, Edward returned to work promptly, no longer worried about not being able to continue working to provide for his family. By supporting programs like these, you can help SEE build more sustainable eyecare systems in under-resourced areas of the world, so individuals like Edward can get the care they need!
Visit our #GivingTuesday campaign page here to give a matched donation today!
