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Two year old Blessjah suffers from congenital cataract, a condition that has stopped him from enjoying the playful life of a boy of his age and also threatened his chances of a good education and an independent adult life.
His father, Eniafe, first noticed the 'white flakes' in both his eyes when his son was just nine months old. |
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Dr Ben-Zion examines Blessjah |
| When a doctor at his local hospital in Nigeria told him about the ORBIS programme in Ilorin, he was certain that this was the answer to his prayers and did not hesitate to leave his farm to travel over 400 km by bus to get to the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital to meet the ORBIS team. |
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Dr Itay Ben-Zion, ORBIS volunteer paediatric ophthalmologist, operated on Blessjah's right eye to remove the cataract whilst training selected local ophthalmologists in the latest paediatric techniques. He explained: ‘It appears that Blessjah's cataracts were developing at a rapid rate, consequently his vision was deteriorating fast and his world was closing in on him.' |
The operation went smoothly and Blessjah could see clearly again. Within minutes he began reaching for coloured toys that were placed in front of him. After a couple of weeks Blessjah returned to Ilorin to have the cataract removed from his left eye.
It is so important that, together, we continue to bring light and sight into children’s lives.
Please help us to give more children the future they deserve.
Join our sight-saving journey and give the gift of sight to others like Blessjah
