ABOUT

Eyes For East Africa is a UK charity (no. 1053222). We exist solely to support the work of Kwale Eye Centre, an eye hospital located on the south coast of Kenya. Kwale Eye Centre was established in 1993 by UK ophthalmologist Dr. Helen Roberts MBE MBChB FRCOphth FCOECSA.

Kwale Eye Centre continues to expand and change to meet the changing need for eye care. Treatment ranges from basic eye treatment and spectacles to state of the art surgery for cataract and glaucoma and laser treatment for diabetes and macular disease. Other areas of activity include education, prevention of eye disease, field screenings and surgical eye camps. We welcome visiting specialists who assist in the treatment of patients and training of staff.

community work

Poverty is, of course, the greatest barrier to people reaching care. Another issue is the almost total lack of awareness that poor eyesight can be treated, and where that treatment is available. Kwale Eye Centre employs a grassroots approach to reaching those who need us most. Our 6 Community Based Workers get around on motor bikes and so can reach people in very remote areas. We work closely with local government and other health service providers. We train government Community Health Workers how to recognise and refer people with eye disease.

training and research

This is perhaps the most important thing the Eye Centre does long term. The Eye Centre is approved by the Medical Practitioners and Dentists Board as a training centre for doctors who wish to become ophthalmologists. Post graduate students from the University of Nairobi learn surgery and clinical skills at the Eye Centre. Ophthalmic Clinical Officers and Cataract surgeons from Kenya Medical Training College train with us, as well as nurses and even management students from Mombasa Polytechnic college.

Students from various universities receive practical training and experience at the Eye Centre. Kenya Institute of Special Education (KISE) and Kenyatta University send students to our Low Vision Programme to learn about working with people who are visually impaired and have additional needs. University students in Community Development Studies get practical training with our Community based programme.

We work closely with other health care providers in the area to hold regular conferences and training events. This ensures local ophthalmologists and other Eye Care Professionals receive continuing education and work together to deliver the best possible care.

We are heavily involved in training members of the local community on how to recognise eye disease and how to refer the person to us for help. People such as rural health workers, primary school teachers, traditional birth attendants, witch doctors, and parents of visually impaired children all receive training and help us to find the people who need our help most.

Click here to see our list of scientific publications

prevention

Many of the eye problems encountered are preventable. Eye Centre staff visit schools, where learning about eye health issues is an effective way of enhancing community knowledge and responsiveness to eye diseases, because the children spread their knowledge through their families when they return home. This action has resulted in more people attending general screenings thus improving early detection rates and management to prevent blindness.

low vision

The Low Vision Department helps blind and visually impaired people maximise and make use of whatever little vision they have left. They show people how to be independent, even with little or no vision. The Low Vision department is heavily involved with the treatment of children, and works hand in hand with the medics addressing children with visual impairment. The first challenge is finding them - people still believe in witchcraft and therefore that a child with poor eyesight is a curse inflicted on the family because of something shameful someone has done! Therefore, children with visual impairment are often hidden away. Our school screening and child to child programme is really good at finding them as children always know if there is a child being hidden away at home. Then we encourage the family to open up and let us help. Once we reach the child we are then able to make a full assessment. Sometimes surgery or visual aids help; sometimes more is required as the child may suffer from other challenges. Counselling is terribly important to enable the family and their community to accept the child and give him or her the chance for a normal life. Once at school going age we support the teachers, explaining how the child may take much longer to assimilate information because they do not have normal sight, how the teacher can do more verbally, write larger letters on the board etc. It's a team effort and it can really make a difference.

A Snap Shot of the Eye Centre

The short videos below show a snap shot of a day at the Eye Centre!

The Trustees of Eyes for East Africa are Tom Parkinson, George Walton, Dr. Roger Humphry, Jonathan Arkle and Rachel Carson. It is run entirely by volunteers, including the maintenance of the web sites, so overheads are minimal, typically less than 1% of annual donations received.