Ufanuzu Moses is refugee from North Kivu in eastern Congo. Moses is the Manager of Well of Plenty, where he oversees well-digging and agricultural projects that teach local farmers how grow new crops using drip irrigation.
Moses traveled back home for the first time in five years, to bring hope and help to his home country. The state of North Kivu has been affected by an ongoing war for over 20 years. Just recently, a newly active volcano has further disrupted the region.
With all these issues, the people of Goma, the most populous city of North Kivu are struggling greatly with food insecurity and limited access to health care –with eye issues being one of them.
For his trip, Moses took a kit of eyeglasses from Global Vision 2020 and the Menno Eye Clinic in Dezleka to help people with refractive error. During his time there, 14 participants were trained virtually by Greg Wiens and the team on the ground. After the training sessions, the team had the chance to practice what they had learned before organizing the first clinic the following day.
While practicing, Pastor Namegabe, who was one of the participants of the training and a church leader said: “I have been suffering from eye problem, I was unable to read clearly even the Bible. But I could be able to afford to buy good quality eyeglasses through Global Vision 2020 and Menno Eye Clinics. I have been helped and I will be helping others too.”
After a day of practice, the team had another online training session to ask questions for cases they were unable to fully solve. Greg was able to help them remotely from Winnipeg, Canada.
For the single day that Moses and his team ran the clinic, more than 90 people were screened. This was an exploratory trip, and it has become clear that the demand for good quality, affordable eyeglasses is very high. In the coming months as Moses continues to travel and dig wells, he also plans to bring with him many more eyeglasses as well as high quality sunglasses.
Greg Wiens hopes to start multiple Menno Eye Clinics across Congo. His goal is to employ refugees who are returning to Congo after years in refugee camps, and local health care workers.
Authors: Ufanuzu Moses and Greg Wiens