ZIMBA, ZAMBIA

July 19 - Aug 3, 2019

 

Details

 IVO returned to Zambia in July/August 2019.

Surgery

Dr. Peter Huang and Dr. Paul Huang performed surgery for 2 weeks at Zimba Eye Clinic in the town of Zimba, Zambia. They performed 68 major surgeries, including

  • 42 cataract surgeries

  • 6 corneal transplants

  • 20 additional surgieries (ptosis, pterygium, lid repairs, etc)

The clinic draws patients from hundreds of miles as it is one of the only free eye care clinics in the country. Many Zambians suffer from severe, dense cataracts and corneal issues because of the strong sun and lack of free health care- something we sometimes take for granted in Canada. For many people, the clinic, which is open 3-4 times per year, is the only hope to regain their eyesight.

Vision Screening

3 IVO team members teamed up with staff from the Zimba Eye Clinic to screen ~700 school children for vision issues

Computer Teaching

Stephen conducted a 1-week Introduction to Game Design Workshop at Victoria Falls University of Technology for 16 university students. In the second week, he taught an Introduction to Computers for 24 local teachers in the Zimba region. Thanks to your donations, IVO was able to donate 21 laptops to schools and provide over 190 meals to students and teachers.

Visual Impairment Aids

IVO brought white canes and other visual impairment devices (such as talking watches and magnifiers) which were distributed to blind and visually impaired people around Zimba. We also had a wonderful donation of prosthetics from Calgary Ocular Prosthetics. These can change the lives of those who have had to have their eye removed from causes such as cancer caused by HIV.

Thank You!

Our time would like to thank everyone who donated to our trip- no matter how big or small, each donation made a huge impact on the lives of Zambians. We would like to extend our gratitude to the Eye Bank of Canada and CorneaGen for donating 6 corneas. As well, we would like to acknowledge the tissue donors for their selfless gift of vision. Thank you as well to Alberta Computers for Schools and the Lalani family for significant contributions to laptop donations. Finally, we would like to thank Zimba-based Kocebuka Community Foundation as well as International Vision Volunteers who made our trip possible.