SAHARA Newsletter (Jan 2014) | Page 8

Training of Eye Technicians at Kibuye Hope Hospital, Burundi

Because most eye training programs, both in Africa as well as globally, are conducted in English, we are excited to partner with Dr. John Cropsey and Kibuye Hope Hospital (KHH) in Burundi (Africa) to provide a training program in French. Burundi is one of Africa’s poorest countries (4th or 5th poorest depending on the year) and, like the rest of the developing world, Burundi suffers from high incidence of preventable blindness. Training and equipping additional eye technicians at Kibuye Hope Hospital can decrease the number of people living with preventable and curable eye conditions.

This groundbreaking French training program will consist of two segments. The first will take place at the end of January in Bujumbura, Burundi’s capital. Dr. Levi Kandeke, the senior ophthalmologist in Burundi (there only two other eye surgeons and they both work for him and are brand new trainees), has graciously agreed to host the team from Kibuye for a two week session. They will work with him at the University of Burundi Medical Center. This session will equip the community eye care workers with a knowledge of anatomy, physiology, and pathology of the eye.

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