On the road to our Rwandan partner
By Zubair Ansari MD
This is a video taken while driving to a cataract outreach in Kinihira, Rwanda. Seen here are tea gardens that stretch for miles and miles on the feet of scenic mountains and hills. Tea is Rwanda’s largest export and grows comfortably here due to its temperate climate and volcanic soil.
The livelihood of many rural Rwandans depends on their ability to harvest crops such as tea and sugarcane. The burden of blindness is especially cumbersome in these communities that rely on manual labor for their primary means of income. The work of Dr. Ciku Manthenge and Dr. John Nkurikiye is critically important in these communities, and highlight to the rest of the world the importance of giving back to those that have given so much to us.
To check out their work, and the future of Ophthalmology in Rwanda, please visit the Rwandan International Institute of Ophthalmology website at www.riio.org