On 23 March 2009, Moorfields Eye Hospital and Lions of MD105 were graced with the presence of International President Lion Al Brandel, and his wife Lion Dr Maureen Murphy, to commemorate the start of our very own Sightfirst Project, the Lions Eye Centre to be built at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, Ghana.
International President Al was one of the project’s most ardent advocates when it came under consideration by Lions Clubs International’s Sightfirst Advisory Committee, so it was only fitting that he be the principal guest at the function at Moorfields to celebrate its launch.
The International President was full of praise for the Lions of MD105, and in particular PID Howard Lee, PCC Chris Iles and PDG Max Mongia, who are heading the project, along with International Vice President Eberhard Wirfs, and four representatives from Moorfields. Working with Lions of Ghana, this team will turn the dream into a reality.
Key to this project was the agreement of an LCIF grant of US$1.5 million, to which US$500,000 will be added from MD105’s Campaign Sightfirst II fundraising, and £2 million from Moorfields’ charities. But the grant application was not easy. It required a new, pro-active, partnership, approach of a kind not experienced by LCIF before. International President Al described Howard Lee as making history in Lions because, through his work with Korle Bu, he had made fundamental changes in how projects are viewed by LCIF and the SightFirst Advisory Committee.
Howard pointed out the great value of the project. There are 2.6 million blind people in West Africa, and around 75% of this blindness is preventable. However, surgical rates are less than 20% of the VISION 2020 targets.
The new unit will carry out over 50,000 procedures every year, and will also train surgeons from the whole of West Africa so that they can carry on this work over a wide area. This will ensure that the work will be “sustainable”, and will benefit the people of West Africa increasingly as time goes on.
Howard also elaborated on the partnership, and described how, on a recent visit to Ghana with PDG Max Mongia and three Moorfields representatives, they had cemented the relationships and the agreements necessary to the success of the project, with other key players, such as the Ghana Ministry of Health, the University of Ghana Medical School, the West Africa College of Surgeons and the West African Health Organisation.
The project is still in its planning stage. However, the land has been donated by the Ghana government, a Project Manager has been appointed, and detailed plans are now being drawn up. It is expected that building will start later this year, with completion in 2010. Slowly, the dream is becoming a reality.
Many thanks to all those Lions Clubs which have already contributed. Those who wish to contribute now, please make cheques payable to “MD105 Appeal Fund”, marked “Korle Bu”, and send them to your District CSFII Co-ordinator.
