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Clinic Blog: Benin Clinic Blog
September 8, 2010
A Little About Our Clinic- by Dr Khan
By jarnold
Our clinic is located in what looks like an auditorium within a compound, the area used to be surrounded by grass but has been so worn out from use. The building is old and drafty and the concrete floor is covered in dust. There are two restrooms in the clinc but leak into the concrete hallway but at least there are no smells. There is a second floor to the clinc but we are not allow up because there is no railing on the stairwell. There is alot of trash both around the compound as well as all over the street in piles. It is bleak to say the least. in this enviorment I'm so suprized to see people thrive. Our patients are so resiliant and so determined to make things better despite the hardships. Today I saw a lady in the clinic almost blind from glaucoma with and infant strapped to her back, I wanted to cry when I saw her condition but she acted as if she was fine...... hard life makes you strong.
A huge highlight of our clinc are our translator volunteers. They are young, educated and full of smiles. They have hope much like young adults do when they graduate. Many speak multiple languages including French, Spanish, English, Japanese and Chinese. I'm learning my native tongue from someone in Africa. The volunteers act as translators, with the patients as well as patient escorts, crowd control, eye glass dispensers and all around gofers. We could not run the clinic without them..... They are a key part of our success as they bridge us to the culture here.
Finally, One of our team mates left her back pack with a laptop outdide in the middle of the patient waiting area but did not discover it until it was after dark, in a panic she went to look for it and amazingly enough it was still there unopened and intact, nothing missing. People here continue to amaze me.........
September 8, 2010
Day Two of Clinic - we are starting to hit our stride now.
By jarnold
We left for Clinic at 7.00am all refreshed and ready to bring good vision to as many people as possible in Ouidah. Once we got to our Clinic locataion Cyndi Jones led us in a cheer to get us even more pumped up. Then it was time to bring the people in and see to their needs,
One of the first gentleman to come through was George, he needed a very very high +. Dr Mark Crafford found the perfect pair for him in IMS, when we put it on him his face broke into a huge smile. The glasses were a far better match for his vision then what he was currently wearing.
Next came Santelia (aged 9), she had never had an eye exam before and was having a hard time in school. Oh yes. She is also as cute as a button. The Doctors determined that she needed a high - with high cyl as well. Gary Tonsger found the perfect pair for this little lady. When she put them on and could see for the first time her smile was matched by her father and all the team members who gathered around and cheered. What a great moment for us all!
Later in the day Dr Christy Munro saw a mother who was very worried about the health of her infants eyes (she was about 6 weeks old). Dr Christy quickly determined that the child had a severe infection in her eye and administered antibiotic drops. If untreated this infection could have permanently damaged this childs eyes, by treating her today we changed her life - this is what we came to Benin to do!
In all today we saw about 1200 people, they all recieved professional eyecare from our Dr's and glasses or sunglasses from our team. What a great day!
September 7, 2010
Greetings From Benin.
By jarnold
Last night the whole team arrived safe and well in Cotonou Benin. With one desire - to help as many people as we can see better than they ever have before. Today we set off to Clinic where we completed the set up process and attended a welcoming ceremony to celebrate the Clinic. The Mayor of Ouidah, the town the Clinic is in attended as well as other dignatories from Government, the local Lions clubs and the NGO (Non Governmental Organisation) that is hosting us here. The Voodoo King was also in attendance.
Then it was time to get down to work proper. We all trained on each station. Station leaders are Ashley Hill on autorefractor, Damon Mackert for the Doctors, Todd Peters in IMS (Information Managment Systems), Mitchell Belinsky on the Chabellas (custom made glasses) and Cyndi Jones in Dispensing. They all did a great job making sure we knew each position. Once recipients started flowing in things went smoothly and we saw just over 600 people in half a day. Tomorrow we will do more.
Internet speeds are a little challenging here in Cotonou, we hope to have pictures and more posted shortly. Stay Tuned.
September 4, 2010
A Little bit about Benin.
By jarnold
Its the night before we leave and it seemed like it would be a good time to talk a little bit about the country that we visiting, so the folks back home can start to get a picture of Benin. Most of the information here is gleaned from the Lonely Planet travel guide. Residents from Benin I hope will forgive any mistakes.
Benin (Population 6.7 million) is a relatively young country, situated on the coast of West Africa between Togo and Nigeria. In its current form Benin came in to being in 1972 a few years after its independence from France. But Benin also has hundreds of years of history as well, this is where Voodoo was born and taken via the slave trade to Brazil and the Caribbean. The capital city of Benin is Porto Novo but its bustling heart and the location of our Clinic is the city of of Cotonou (More on Cotonou later in this post). Benin is a young country - 45% of the population is below the age of 14. It is also a politically stable country, but where 38% of its people make just a subsistence living from farming. 40% of people are Christian and 25% are Muslim - but most people mix these with a bit of the native Voodoo religion. Benin boasts some of the best beach resorts and safari parks in West Africa and has a reputation of being safe and friendly to tourists.
Benin's biggest city is Cotonou (Population 762,000) is located on the south coast of the country. It is the countries main sea port and has its only international airport. The city retains the influence of its French colonists. Its the business centre of the country and also has good restaurants and nightlife. If shopping is your thing (and I think we will all want to do a bit of that) the Dantokpa market is the place to be - here you can buy a goat, machine parts, local artwork, souvenirs or anything else your heart desires.
So this is just a little bit of what Benin is. As our Clinic progresses we hope to tell you how we are helping the people of Cotonou as well as tell you more about this country, its history and its culture. Please stay tuned!
August 31, 2010
Welcome!
By jarnold
Hello, Bonjour!
Let me invite you to virtually join our African adventure. Over the next couple of weeks we will be running a OneSight Clinic in Cotonou Benin. Our team of 36 volunteers from all over North America and Europe will be spending two weeks giving complete eye exams and recycled eye glasses to thousands of people in Cotonou. Benin is a peaceful, happy but desperately poor country and the cost of eye glasses is out of reach for many of its residents we will help as many of them as we can see the world more clearly.
Each day we are in Benin we will be updating this blog with highlights from our vision care Clinic. We will share stories of our recipients, experiences of our team members and a little bit about Benin itself. We arrive in Benin on September 6th and hopefully we will be posting pictures and stories each day until September 17th. So please check back every day or every couple of days to participate in all the excitement. AND if you are interested in getting involved our team is raising money to help fund our clinic. You can help here.
For those who are new to OneSight here is some background for you. OneSight is family of charitable programs dedicated to improving vision through outreach, research and education. OneSight is sponsored by Luxottica Group. Over the last 20 years OneSight has helped more then 7 million people all over the world. Each year OneSight conducts two weeks Clinics where our our doctors and trained volunteers provide full free eye exams and recycled glasses to thousands of people in need. OneSight has operated 173 clinics in 35 different developing countries. For 2010 OneSight has 20 international clinics planned. For more information about these clinics and other programmes run by OneSight visit OneSight.org
About the Clinic
Benin Clinic Blog Clinic
Our team of 30 volunteers and doctors from around the world will spend two weeks in Benin providing free eye care and eyewear to thousands of people who could not otherwise afford to see the world clearly.