March 2022
Our staff work hard to coordinate medical outreach opportunities regularly in and around Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. These medical outreach programs are organized together with a local church, where the ophthalmologists set up to see patients. The church shares the information with their congregation and the larger community and offers everyone who needs an eye exam the ability to see a doctor for free. Many people turn out and anyone who needs follow-up will be supported to come to the Eye Unit at MCM for treatment or surgery.
Ato Fikeru, is a 69-year-old retired factory worker, who spent his life working in a vegetable oil factory on the outskirts of the city. He first noticed eye problems in his early 60s, but without health insurance or a pension, he could not afford to make the trip into the city to see an eye doctor. And so, he struggled with his eyesight and persistent headaches, until he could barely read.
In late 2021, he attended one of our medical outreach programs at the local Mekane Yesus church. He was diagnosed as having cataracts. Some months later he was provided with the transportation to come to the hospital, where Dr. Demissie made a small incision and successfully operated on his eyes. The surgery was completed free of charge, which is a key component of the medical outreach program.