AFRICA/MALI - Together for Africa: St John of God Brothers and Italian air force back in Mali to “restore the light” to 2 million blind people

Monday, 28 November 2005

Rome (Fides Service) - On November 25, a team of doctors of AFMAL (l’Associazione con i Fatebenefratelli per i Malati Lontani) and Italian Air Force left for Gao in Mali to help children young people and adults regain their sight.
The humanitarian mission “Restore light”, fights blindness caused by neglected diseases, cataracts for example which affect about 2 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa.
In November last year AFMAL and the Italian air force helped 250 people to regain their sight in Mali; in Benin, in June they visited 800 people and carried out 85 cataract operations, 150 heart examinations, 50 operations of general surgery.
They carry with them humanitarian material and 2,000 pairs of spectacles collected by an Italian association of opticians. The initiative met with widespread response.
So far there have been five “restore light” missions, two in Mali, one in Benin, one in Bali and one in Togo and a total number of 700 operations and about 2,500 examinations. Concrete results for a project aimed at solving a health problem which has important social aspects. In this region blind people are accompanied by children which means the children do not go to school. Thanks to these missions many blind people can see again and be once again active in their communities and many children can play and go to school like other children. (AP) (28/11/2005 Agenzia Fides; Righe:30; Parole:355)


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