Specsavers Home Visits optometrist Kejal Shah organised a three-day eye care camp in the Kenyan city of Kisumu and treated 1,300 patients.
Shah anticipated only 600 patients at the clinic but was welcomed by 1,300 due to high demand for free eye care.
Patients were screened during the camp and the local ophthalmologist Dr. Mansour Abukhelewa, which Shah collaborated with, carried out health checks before she undertook the refraction and dispensed glasses. Glasses were donated by Home Visits patients for the trip.
‘We actually saw 1,300 people for an eye test – more than double what we had anticipated. People started queuing three hours before the clinic opened at 8am, just to make sure they could get in.
‘It was very busy but it’s the best thing I’ve done in my life. Our work helped change the lives of people unable to afford to feed themselves, let alone pay for eye care or medical bills.
‘I dispensed glasses to approximately 900 people. I took around 500 pairs donated by the Specsavers Home Visits community, for which I thank them. However, we ran out by the second day so I had to source more pairs locally,’ Shah said.
250 minor eye conditions, such as allergies and infections, were also treated and 100 cataract surgeries and 20 corneal transplants were booked.
Shah said that she would encourage other optometrists to undertake such rewarding work and that she is thinking about organising another camp in the future.
