Outreach to Cape Coast Was a Success

Hello Steemians, a lovely day to you all, this is to update the community on the recent Cape Coast Outreach that was undertaken by some noble members of @bettervision. It was a 3 day trip and our vonlunteers lodged at the University of Cape Coast, Ghana because there happen to an optometry school there, actually there are only two Optometry Schools in Ghana, one In Kwame Nkrumah Univerisity of Science and Technology in the Ashanti Region and University of Cape Coast in the Central Region. We were honored to have such a wonderful reception from our colleagues and to even have their immense support and contribution during the outreach itself, in terms of personnel and instruments to facilitate the whole process.

We visited two towns, “Amamoma” and “Akotokyir” during the stay and we had lots of education for the members of the community. Amamoma is a small town with a large market for the whole community and one lorry station. The neighbours and quite friendly and conscious about their health. Akotokyir is only a little bigger, they are both closer to the sea but Amamoma is way closer than Akotokyir.

A lot of conditions were diagnosed during the screening process and those that were severe, emergency and demanded immediate and critical attention were referred to the nearest clinic for treatment. It was a relief when very few glaucoma cases were recorded because glaucoma is a sight threatening condition and very often than not if not diagnosed and treated early would result in total blindness. An old lady who had toxoplasmosis had a wonderful vision for her age, it is quite fascinating how these things happen once in while, there are still lots of things to be discovered in the field of Visual Care and more research is still ongoing. We are however glad that we are contributing our quota to the development of the community through visual healthcare. Kudos to all our volunteers for their selfless work. God bless you.

What is @bettervision about?

@bettervision is is a project initiated by @nattybongo and friends to give back to the society the knowledge and skill acquired through the Optometric Studies in Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana.It is an outreach system where we visit the less privileged communities to offer free eye screening services and education to the people within the community

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

To reduce or prevent vision loss through diseases such as glaucoma, cataract and refractive errors.

To enlighten the majority of the Ghanaian population about the importance of proper visual care.

To conscientize people on the need for regular eye checks

To get more people to have their wards screened within the Critical periods of a Child’s Vision Development; thus from ages 3 to till about 10 years.

To help the blind and people with low vision live a better life within the society through education of the general public to stop stigmatization.

Our greatest gratitude goes to @fundition @surfyogi @girlsfoundation @bleepcoin @ackza and @wafrica for helping to make the aims and objectives of @bettervision a reality.

This is me @nattybongo reporting for @bettervision. Thanks for your time