João Da Costa
João is originally from Angola, but due to the war, he and his family lived in Zambia for many years. He trained to become a doctor. He actually wanted to be a cardiologist, but when he came to Lubango for an internship, he met Dr. Steve and joined him on a trip. He was captivated by this work of giving back the light in the eyes of the blind and visually impaired and preventing eye damage whenever possible. He walked with Dr. Steve for several months. He will be in Nigeria from June to December 2021 to learn the cataract surgeries and if possible learn even more about ophthalmic treatments. I have been impressed by the passion and perseverance he has. The circumstances are not favorable for him, he needs support and he gets it in a limited way. Yet he has faith in God who leads him and will help him reach his goal!
I would like to share with you what he wrote about operating;
My hands are made to hold scalpels and my eyes to carry surgical telescopes. I appreciate every carpentry job I did with my father growing up, the fine work he taught me is now reflected in my surgical career. Every time I hold my scalpel to make an incision through my telescope or microscope, I say, Thank you God and thank you my Father. There may be shortcuts to success, but there is no shortcut to competence.
The container is going to Angola!
I had been collecting stuff for months and finally the time came for us to pack up the container on the first Saturday in September (2021). Fortunately, many people had come to help. It wasn't just "my stuff"; ophthalmic equipment, clothing and household items. No, much, much more was collected, for example also stuff that can be used in the center that is being built in Huambo. (More info under the heading Arvore da Vida.) And now the container is on its way to Angola. Please pray with us that it will arrive there safely.
Arston in action!
Arston helps me with his expertise as an optician (see also info under home front team). Because of him, a whole sponsorship campaign of glasses spontaneously got underway among opticians, fantastic! It was so much that it was at his gallery. It is not about the glasses, but where possible to reuse the frames. And there is also the necessary work involved, all these glasses namely had to be selected, to see what was still usable ... But that was not the only thing. We were also able to arrange the necessary equipment to help opticians in Angola, such as a large grinding machine.
B-scan for doctor Steve
Doctor Steve desperately needs good equipment, including this B-scan. With this device we can make an ultrasound, which is a 3D picture of the eye. We can look at the structures in the eye, whether the retina is in place and there are no tumors. This is especially necessary with thick cataracts, when you can't see the inside of the eye very well. For the purchase of this device I need your help! Please help me to reach this amount! Many thanks for every contribution small or large!
Doctor Steve desperately needs good equipment, including this B-scan. With this device we can make an ultrasound, which is a 3D picture of the eye. We can look at the structures in the eye, whether the retina is in place and there are no tumors. This is especially necessary with thick cataracts, when you can't see the inside of the eye very well. For the purchase of this device I need your help! Please help me to reach this amount! Many thanks for every contribution small or large!
Help for João Victorino!
I came into contact with João Victorino and when I heard his story I wanted to help him. He is someone who likes to help the people around him. His father trained as an ophthalmologist. João more or less wants to follow in his footsteps. He has opened an optician's shop/eye clinic, in order to offer the necessary ophthalmological help to poor people around him. He needs the necessary equipment which is not cheap, and I would like to help him with that. He asks for an autorefractor meter (device to measure harvest marks) and a lens meter (to measure glasses). I have the first device at home and it is planned for the second transport and I am working on getting a lens gauge as well. I expect that this will also be possible.Are you interested in his whole story? Ask for the newsletter!
A second transport!
planned January/February 2021
After a successful first transport, I would very much like to organise a second transport. There was a second autokerator refractometer at my home. And I was offered several pieces of equipment free of charge and sometimes I was able to buy useful equipment for little money! This allowed me to fill a second crate, possibly even a third! Although the equipment costs relatively little, the transport is quite expensive! If you want to contribute to this, I refer you to the donation page! Every little bit helps! Of course everything will be tested before it goes on transport! Unfortunately the transport has been delayed a lot, but we are doing our best to get it to Angola!
First acquaintance with Angola!
January - February 2020
After extensive mail contact with Dr. Steve, I decided it was time to go to Angola myself, to see with my own eyes how the ophthalmological care is organised there. In January 2020 the time had come, I went there for almost 4 weeks! A special experience in more ways than one! I accompanied doctor Steve in these weeks. What struck me was that despite the lack of much equipment you can still do a lot! Unfortunately it happened more often that people come too late, so the eyes were in a state where healing is no longer possible. The operation of cataracts is very rewarding work. Because of this people often get the light back in their eyes, from being visually impaired or even blind before. You can imagine how happy they are then! This is with advanced cataracts in which you usually even see a white pupil. The first weeks we were in the CEML hospital in Lubango. I decided to learn how to assist with the cataract operations in order to make myself useful. A trip to Luena was planned and I joined. Exciting! We flew there with the MAF. We took the necessary equipment with us. Two weeks of hard work followed! But a lot of gratitude from the patients when we could help them! I was glad that I could make myself useful by assisting with the cataract operations and I was also able to provide the necessary assistance in the consulting room.
