The team from US and Congo taught basic vision screening concepts to three new healthcare workers on Monday. Training additional workers is part of the strategy needed to sustain the vision project. We taught basic anatomy and physiology of the eye, how to perform a visual acuity assessment using the Snellen Chart, how to perform spherical equivalents, pulling glasses from a quarter diopter system, and measuring pupillary distance. The photograph above shows Mr. Bavon teaching workers how to obtain a pupillary distance on a patient. All of the healthcare workers participated in the teaching program. This week we met a man who traveled 600 miles from Kalemie, a large village located at the banks of Lake Tanganika. He reported that the people in Kalemie had heard about the Kamina Vision Initiative and requested that we come to Kalemie in the future to help begin a new clinic. At the end of our training, I told the healthcare workers about vision needs that were identified in other villages. The healthcare workers clapped and expressed enthusiasm at the prospect of teaching others in Congo about ways to improve vision. It sounds like we have some exciting work ahead of us!
