June, 2020:

Dr. Japhet Boniface continues to utilize the equipment we provided to perform more than 400 outreach cataract services in Northern Tanzania to date. While he is making progress, he is in need of additional equipment necessary to optimize his outcomes. When cataract surgery is performed, the surgeon must take precise measurements before the surgery in order to calculate which power of artificial lens will provide the best vision without glasses. Dr. Boniface does not have this equipment, so he must make educated guesses as to which lens power will work best. We are actively working to raise funds to provide him with this equipment. We also hope to provide him with more advanced technology for performing phacoemuslification cataract surgery as well as anterior vitrectomy. Our fundraising goal for this equipment is $25,000. If you would like to donate, please click here.

October, 2019:

 

Dr. Japhet Boniface has been utilizing the equipment we provided. He and his team of local nurses and technicians have been taking the portable operating microscope to remote areas to provide cataract surgery to patients unable to travel to regional hospitals.

June 2019:

Thanks to our generous supporters and a substantial medical equipment donation from Pacific Eye Institute in Southern California, a container full of more than $200,000 worth of surgical equipment has arrived in Tanzania!

We have partnered with Dr. Japhet Boniface, a local Ophthalmologist practicing at Mawenzi Kilimanjaro Regional Hospital. We also plan to collaborate with the Kilimanjaro Center for Community Ophthalmology. Dr. Boniface has access to an operating suite, but he has no surgical equipment. We plan to fully equip his clinic and operating room so he can begin serving patients. Our aim as we invest in his local practice will be to facilitate services for local patients who cannot afford care. Visiting surgical teams from Sight Restoration International will work alongside Dr. Boniface to meet the great need in the region.

Looking forward, as we expand services in this region our aim is to harness the profitable local tourism industry to subsidize the costs of eye-care delivery. Our ultimate goal is to develop a locally sustainable model of eye-care outreach.

To find out how you can help in this exciting new chapter, please click here.