Tag term summary

• Foundation expands work in Rwanda

  Plans are underway to expand The Fred Hollows Foundation’s activities in Rwanda to tackle cataract in two remote districts near the Congo border. An estimated 2,000 people in Rutsiro and Karongi districts are blind, but eye health services are very poor. There are no ophthalmologists and only two eye nurses to serve the entire community. 

• Samuel

  Samuel loves the sound of his mother singing to him. Her songs are important to him, because this little boy was born blind. His mother's voice is like a precious gift cutting through the darkness. This video shows Samuel's journey to have his sight restored through the work of The Fred Hollows Foundation.

• Samuel

    Special report by Brian Doolan, CEORwanda: Find out how The Foundation restored sight to this little boy and renewed his family’s hope for a better future.  

• Achieving success in global health

  Dr Wanjiku Mathenge, Medical Advisor for The Fred Hollows Foundation, recently addressed an Australian medical conference, outlining the factors that contribute to achieving success in global health.  Dr Mathenge, who is based in Rwanda, spoke to over 600 delegates at the Australian Medical Students Association's annual Global Health conference, discussing the common traits of high impact programs. "Big, lasting, world changing success is possible when the right ingredients all come together," Dr Mathenge said.

• Rwanda

  Before The Foundation began work in the Western Province of Rwanda in 2004, the only eye health service available in the region was a mobile service. It was limited in its capacity and could not meet demand. Overview Over the last 15 years, Rwanda has made significant progress towards growth and development, and the country has shown great commitment to improving the lives of its people.

• Josephine

  Rwanda: On one catastrophic day in 1994, armed gangs swept into Josephine’s Rwandan village and she lost almost all her family. Then, five years ago, she lost her sight. There is no way to give Josephine back her family. But we were able to restore her sight.

• Eliminating trial and error in eye testing

  Support from the Australian public has allowed The Fred Hollows Foundation to purchase specialised equipment to improve refraction testing at Gisenyi Eye Clinic, Rwanda. Since the delivery of a machine called an auto refractometer last year, the number of patients screened by the clinic has almost tripled. “Before we had this machine, refractive testing would involve much more guess work, with trial lenses being used,” says Janvier Murenzi, The Foundation’s Program Manager in Rwanda.

• Sight restored to young and old in Rwanda

  A 78-year-old Rwandan grandmother can see again after receiving cataract surgery at the Gisenyi Eye Unit, supported by The Foundation. Catherine Nyirabuyange had not been able to see for an entire year. She didn't know that treatment for her vision loss was available. Then she learnt about the sight-saving operations performed at the Gisenyi Eye Unit through her local church group. Soon after, she had the cataract in her right eye removed at the eye clinic, 100 kilometres north-west of the country’s capital, Kigali.

• Eye specialist training in Rwanda

  A shortage of Rwandan eye surgeons inspired Dr Emmanuel Byamukama to pursue a career in the field, with The Foundation’s support. He now plays a key role in restoring sight to hundreds of people in his country. Dr Byamukama has been head of ophthalmology at Gisenyi Hospital for three months now. At the hospital, 100 kilometres north-west of the country’s capital, Kigali, he helps  40-60 eye patients each day. “I decided to be an ophthalmologist after identifying a gap in ophthalmology in Rwanda,” he said.

• World Sight Day 2010 - East Africa

  On World Sight Day 2010, The Fred Hollows Foundation has planned special events in Rwanda and Burundi. Rwanda In Rwanda, two special training events are planned in conjunction with World Sight Day.

• Sight restored in Rwanda

  The Fred Hollows Foundation recently screened 2726 patients for cataract blindness in Rwanda and restored sight to 73. The majority of these screenings took place at Gisenyi Eye Clinic, which is The Foundation’s base for activities in Rwanda near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo. Outreach screenings also took place at health centres in the Rubavu District, as well as in the remote districts of Ngororero and Nyabihu.