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Seeing is Believing in Mozambique |
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MAF has combined forces again with an agency in Africa to reach people in a remote location in desperate need of medical care.A recent MAF flight from Johannesburg to the remote north of Mozambique bearing state-of-the-art cataract surgery technology and skilled staff has resulted in almost 1000 people being treated for chronic eye conditions.
 | Dr Labusghagne checks a patient
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In a six-day visit to the villages of Domue and Vila Ulongwe, a team of Christian eye doctors from South Africa headed by Dr Mathijs Labuschagne and Sister Pirette Roussouw saw 840 patients and performed 50 cataract operations.
Essential to the mission was a Fako machine, the latest technology available for cataract surgery allowing a new lens to be inserted into a patient's eye by means of a tiny incision.
The delicate machine would not have survived the long and rough road journey intact. A fast, smooth flight aboard a MAF aircraft with pilot Marco Koffeman at the controls was the only option.
 | | Juliana |
And Juliana, 65, was one of those waiting by the side of the road for treatment when the car bringing team members from the airfield came along.
Juliana couldn't see the car but she'd heard that skilled eye doctors were coming to her village and she wanted to be one of the first in line for treatment. She had mature bilateral cataracts and was virtually blind.
When her family flagged the car down, Dr Labuschagne and Sister Pirette were eager to help. They slotted Juliana in for an eye examination later that day. Juliana, meanwhile, went home to find her best clothes.
That very night, the team carried out the operation and the following morning Juliana awoke to discover that she could already see! Scores of other patients had similar stories to tell.
 | Sister Pirette with a boy who had successful surgery to remove a splinter from his cornea
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And the motivation for these Christian doctors to do their amazing work? Their love of Jesus Christ and obedience to his call to reach out to others in his name.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 17 April 2009 )
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