It’s estimated that 40,000 people in Sierra Leone are blind — and 80% of that blindness could be cured or prevented.
Why It Matters
Losing your sight doesn’t just take away your independence. It can mean depending on others for everything you need, and it often brings isolation and depression. Just as often, it’s a child who pays the price too — pulled out of school to care for a blind parent or grandparent, missing out on their own education in the process.
A child looks after his blind grandmother — one of the hidden costs of untreated blindness.
Our Approach
Help Madina has trained our senior nurse, Augusta Turay, to carry out basic eye care, with a particular focus on cataracts — the most common cause of blindness. We’ve also linked up with the eye unit at Kambia Government Hospital to provide cataract surgery for people in and around Madina, and the charity covers most of each patient’s costs.
Between 2021 and 2026, we’ve supported over 500 cataract operations.
The operation can be life-changing. Melvin, a local tailor in Madina, had been unable to work because of his cataracts. After surgery, he was able to pick up his needle again and make a living for himself and his family.
Melvin, back at work after his cataract surgery.
Reading Glasses & Everyday Eye Care
Help Madina also provides reading glasses. From around age 40, many people need glasses — not just for reading, but for everyday work like sorting rice. Word has spread far enough that some people now travel all the way from Freetown, the capital, to buy spectacles from us at a greatly reduced cost.
Other common reasons for a visit to the eye clinic include itchy or red eyes, which we treat with good-quality medication, and removing foreign objects — such as grains of rice — that can cause blindness if left untreated. Our nurse has been trained to carry out this delicate procedure safely.
The impact of a cataract operation or a pair of glasses can be huge. Want to help make it possible? Donate here.