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on a mission for 10 days, and then the re-
maining 355 days nothing happens. Then
we came up with this solution, we go on a
field mission, do ophthalmology and train
the local medical doctor to do ophthalmol-
ogy so that when we are not around, she/he
will continue.

We come with quality equipment so that
people can get surgery and so that the oph-
thalmology care continues when we are not
present.

There are huge gaps in the levels of ophthal-
mology care from one place to another. For
instance, in the Comoros, there are three
islands, and there is one ophthalmologist
per 1 million inhabitants. This translates
into a huge discrepancy between offer and
demand.

Q: We do not think much about it and take
it for granted, but having good eyes is im-
portant.
Well, it has a huge impact. For instance,
let us take people who cannot see anything
because they have curable diseases. Such
people are often useless in society, even a
burden for their family when they cannot

36 W W W . D I VA I N T E R N A T I O N A L . C H