We are back from Mauritania and, after a few days reviewing our experience, we have realised that our project is bearing fruit. We could say that the Noadibou area is the first clear example of success of the Foundation’s #NoMásCataratas project. And why? Let us explain it to you: our objective is to put an end to avoidable blindness in the world due to cataracts. As you well know, cataracts are the natural ageing of the eye, so they will always exist, their operation is relatively simple, but in developing countries, due to a lack of resources, cataracts end up causing blindness in those who suffer from them. And that is our goal, to try to prevent people from going blind because of something that is avoidable.
Well, in Mauritania, together with the Jorge Alió Foundation and Noadibú Vision, we have been working for years on a project that consists of going twice a year in order to be able to operate on more patients. On this expedition, we have realised that, with this medium-term project, we have achieved that the cataracts of the patients who come are not as mature as they were the first times we travelled and that, in many cases, we have been able to operate on second eyes, in other words, people who had already been operated on once in one eye have had surgery on the other. This shows us that, with care and a medium-term project, it is possible to put an end to avoidable blindness due to cataracts in a community.
Very proud of our work!
And as we know that you like the personal experiences of our volunteers, this time I share with you the words of Dr. Javier Casiraghi, an Argentinean surgeon with extensive experience in our expeditions.
Per aspera ad astra:
The fact that an airline got things wrong did not stop us from getting things right. That there were power outages, equipment failures or outdated equipment did not dampen our courage to work.
That there were fewer patients than expected (and desired) did not dampen our impetus to accomplish the task of operating on them all.
How fantastic it is to be able to say that there were no cataracts left to operate on. We did them all!
And what a team!
Monica’s precise leadership, Salah’s being there for everything, the absolute professionalism of Rosalia and Pepe, the successful debut of Melina and Lucia, the tireless Paula and Emilia, the expertise of Coco and Javi and the stainless dedication of Simona generated an atmosphere and an attitude in which it was clear that there are no stones in the way, the stones are the way.
From afar, the Elena Barraquer Foundation was very close by, assisting, resolving and fixing all kinds of inconveniences in the face of the events that arose.
The endless curved monochrome horizon of Nouadhibou welcomed us with its varied and colourful people. On our return, we were eager for more. What a good stimulus to continue: wanting more.
Javier Casiraghi – Surgeon
