• Blind people being helped to cross the road.

As blindness continues to afflict more Zambians with each passing day, TERENCE MUSUKU takes a sympathetic look at the physically and mentally-challenging life of the blind.

With exacting perfection, God created mankind with knowledge. That was done on design purpose: for human beings to lead and enjoy a wholesome life.

Every human organ, of course, is vital as each plays a particular function to maintain and keep a person in ideal health. Each organ fits so well in compatibility.

The Creator of humankind compatibly designed human eye organ in a special way: made with highly fortified form of structure for enabling every person to meet long-lasting life expectancy and perils to face in human life.

Other vital organs include the heart, liver, kidneys, ears, hands, nose, mouth and so forth—however, human life is mainly guided by, and cardinally depends on, the function of the eye organ.

The ability to appreciate one’s environs and see things around, derivable from the possession of eye sight, is the ability far above all physical make-ups human being are imbued with.

The life of the blind, as gleaned from the sightless’ mouths, is lifeless-ness in reality. Whoever suffers the loss of eye sight, suffers a form of physical impairment which is second to none.

God, on this consideration, designed the human eye organ with sure-fire creative power for protection of human beings against and prevention of the pitfalls to be encountered on earth.

Through eye sight, people are able to avoid, keep away from, by-pass, evade or prevail over whatever jeopardy or obstacle confronts them.

To guarantee security and protection from injuries, the eye ball is fitted deeper through the facial position of the human skull into hollow, body socket to make it well and tightly secured.

The skull itself nestles and protects the eye-ball. This is because the bony frame work of the human head enclosing and protecting the brain—the seat of thought and intelligence—is made of the hardest type of bone among the human parts of the body.

Eye organs and the brains are, the quite glaringly, exceptions far better fortified from injuries. This does not apply, as a matter of comparison, to a number of human organs such as nose, teeth, mouth, lips which in contrast, are exposed and protrude on the face of the human head.

FORTIFIED

Since the eye organ is highly-fortified structurally for life-time lasting, there is no bionic eye-replacement to provide, asserts Dr Davison Kwendakwema, a renowned Zambian ophthalmologist. Once you lose your eye-sight, you face a permanent fate to endure.

He elaborates: “The structural fortification of the eye organ is designed for protection of the eye sight only from physical injuries; not from bacterial infections and, neither from afflictions often associated with diseases such as tuberculosis, diabetes, syphilis, leprosy and rheumatism.”

Not only is Dr Kwendakwema a luminary in ophthalmiatrics, but he is one of the two black pioneer ophthalmologists (Dr Jonathan Munkombwe is another currently working in The Diaspora in the United States).

The condition of the eyes, Dr Kwendakwema adds, can be used in the diagnosis of a number of diseases. Vitamin deficiencies, especially, show in the condition of the eye; Vitamin A deficiency affects the rods and causes night blindness.

Dr Kwendakwema describes the eye organ as a three-in-one structure embracing three main parts:

The Outmost Part is the main support of the eye ball encompassing the sclera (opaque) and the cornea (transparent) covering the front of the eye-ball. The conjunctiva is a thin protective membrane covering the sclera, which is also transparent.

The Middle Part contains many blood vessels forming the choroid and, in front, the iris (coloured part of the eye). The iris is anchored by a muscle, enabling its central aperture, the pupil, to contract in bright light, and to dilate in dim light.

The Innermost Part is the retina, the nervous tissue. This contains the expanded termination of the optic nerve, the part of the brain. Behind the iris is the lens controlled by series of muscles which increase or diminish its curvature, and this produce, according to the nearest distance of the object, a clear picture of the retina.

For years and years, blindness afflicting humankind, has been delineated as insignificant world-wide, including in Zambia. The blind, be it in villages and urban communities, have been rare to find. That trend now seems to belong to the far past.

SCOURGE

In the changing world, blindness has become just another societal scourge. An increasing number of people in Zambia, as elsewhere in the world, are finding themselves afflicted with blindness.

Zambia, with a current population of 13 million, has no less than estimated 130,000 victims of blindness. This represents one percent of Zambian total population as recorded by national statistics.

“There are preventable and unpreventable causes of blindness in Zambia”, Dr Kwendakwema asserts, but, in the main, “the apparent increase in blindness is attributable to inabilities of Zambians to get more concerned when afflicted with failing eye sight. They wait until too late.

“In treatment of eye-ailment, it is the best approach to seek expertise of ophthalmologists. They command both the know-how and the diagnostic ability based on applying three pieces on ophthalmic equipment –the slit lamp, operating microscope and laser, the most costly.”

He pointed out that varying forms of blindness are beyond redress or prevention, induced either by congenital deformity; heredity; defective retina; defects in the shape of the eyeball due to having long or short sight; defects of the eye muscle resulting in squinting and defect of the lens caused by assignation and inability to focus on near objects due to the hardening of the lens usually in the middle age.

TYPES

Among the types of blindness currently plaguing Zambia, cataract is the most common. It constitutes 50-60 percent of Zambian blindness. Induced by the opacity of the lens, cataract afflicts people in the middle age and above.

Age-related trachoma (at 14 percent) is rated second in prevalence. It is infection of the eye affecting the eyelids.

Glaucoma (10 percent) is blindness entailing increased tension within, and hardening of the eyeball leading to gradual impairment of sight, often resulting in blindness.

Other forms of blindness include diabetes blindness, HIV and AIDS-induced blindness and tuberculosis-induced blindness. In addition, under-five children suffer sight impairment caused by lack of vitamin A Deficiency.

Conjunctivitis is a condition resulting from the infection artery of the conjunctiva. The symptoms entails feeling grits or tingles in the eye, as well as eye tears and sometimes having eyelids gummed together in the morning.

In the case of retinitis, inflammation of the retina is more serious blindness. It is often induced by some bodily illness, infection, hardening of the arteries, diabetes or kidney problem. Sometimes, the retina becomes detached, leading to blindness.

Curbing or placating blindness in Zambia from the possibility of booming endemic is a task—a national task indeed—calling for involvement of, and concerted efforts from, Government, corporate bodies and noble Zambian individuals.

As luck would have it, Dr Kwendakwema has set the ball rolling as a pioneer ophthalmologist in Zambia by setting up a privately-owned surgery, Beverley Eye & Dental Clinic, in Ndola City; and mooted and initiated the formation of the Zambia Ophthalmological Society.

As the founding president of this charitable organization, Dr Kwendakwema has been instrumental in highlighting the plight of the Zambian blind locally and internationally.

Consequently, the organization has drawn deserving support from the Government, corporate bodies and the international community through training sponsorship to boost ophthalmic manpower needs as well as provision of drugs and equipment.

A lot more support, however, is needed because so far, the number of ophthalmologists in Zambia is no more than 15. Just a drop in the ocean!

Among the 15 ophthalmology practitioners, only five are in possession of the treatment equipment required in performing eye surgery. The equipment costs no less than US$50,000 (about K250.00), which explains why there are few eye surgeries operating in Zambia.

Nevertheless, a good undertaking has been achieved in the treatment and saving of the sight of many Zambians through the ophthalmological society, by promoting awareness against blindness, balding eye camps sessions and the organizing of eye treatment and general examination clinics.

FREE

Since 1995, every year, local-based Lions Clubs and Rotary Clubs have been conducting free eye operations and holding free eye-treatment sessions in response to public demand in various parts of the country. Countless eye patients seize the opportunity of having their sight restored.

Notable international organizations include Sight Savers International (UK), Christopher Blind Mission (Germany), Eye Sight Universal (Canada), Lions Aid (Norway), Trachoma Initiative (USA], Geneva Global International (WHO, Switzerland) as well as special surgery.

It takes being sightless to know life without eye sight. Shimon Kabwe of Ndola, 78, got struck with blindness in 2010. Dead blind by cataract, he separated with his wife in 1975, then a sighted teacher.

Summing up his sightless fate, Kabwe reckons, “It is far better to have eyes than having legs without eyes. You see, every time I need somebody around to render help, even eating is a problem to see where water and food are …moving around is so risky.”

Mrs Rhonness Munenga Kapilili, 51, a close neighbour of Kabwe’s, is purblind–partially blinded. One good morning, as usual, she went with her children to the field about 15 kilometers in the outlying areas of Ndola, for maize cropping in 2008.

After working for half-hour, she got a shocker of her life, the left eye ceased due to what a medical doctor later ascertained was a retina complication. She has undergone eye treatment, but without redress.

Commenting on her fate, she laments: “In my disposition as a woman, I am enervated – unable to cook, to do crop-cultivation any more, to fend for my kids, let alone apply cosmetics to maintain my feminine looks.”

Fredrick Kambole, 71, a former head teacher (Primary Education), is the third neighbour. He has been glaucoma-blinded since 2003. His South Africa-born wife left Zambia in 2006, never to return until now.

“Losing sight,” he said in few words, “is incomparable and far above all human miseries. On two occasions, I felt compelled to commit suicide. Only my watchful two friends stood in my way somehow.”

Good Zambians, noble Zambians and merciful Zambians, collectively and as individuals, render whatever service possible in the interest of the blind.

For life without sight is lifeless indeed.-Feature courtesy of SUMA SYSTEMS

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