Fatuma Ahmed slowly raises her eye lashes to let in sunlight, but quickly closes them.
In the second attempt, she squints and blinks several times for the eyes to adapt to the scotching sun. The eyes reluctantly oblige.
Fatuma has had poor vision due to cataracts for five years.
“I sell samosas and other foodstuff at our local market. I can only see things that are very close,” she told the Star. That was before a doctor removed a bandage on her right eye.
Fatuma was among hundreds of people who turned up for check-up during the Kakuma refugee camp health week.
Her condition began as blurred vision and got worse over the years until she could hardly see. She underwent an operation on both eyes during the medical camp.
Before the health week, Fatuma never thought her condition was reversible. As such, she did not seek medical help.
The mother of two came to the camp in 1997 with her sons. She is now a grandmother of six. The family lives together. Like many residents, Fatuma wrongly believed blindness comes with age. The condition is made worse by frequent dust storms in Turkana.
She never considered her eye problem a big deal - she was certain that traditional methods of treatment would be the solution. “I’ve seen the traditional medication work. Besides, the hospitals here are very busy,” Fatuma said.
The traditional treatment involves boiling fat from goat meat mixed with herbs. The concoction is used as eye drops.
“That was not working very well though,” Fatuma said.
Ophthalmologist Hiram Mwangi said many people with cataract ignore treatment due to societal beliefs. “Cataract is not painful and it grows very slowly. Most patients don’t feel the need to seek treatment until the condition has worsened,” Mwangi said.
Cataract causes blindness which is reversible. “Most residents often prefer to live with the condition due to a common misconception that old age leads to blindness,” he said.
Among the residents, traditional treatment is the option for most diseases. They only go to hospital when the condition gets worse.
Joseph Longorot said he could not remember how long he had lived with cataract.
“I’m old and that (cataract) is normal at my age,” Longorot said. “Old age kills the eyes, no need for hospital, you just use herbs and hope it will get better.”
DUST STORMS
Longorot was among those operated on. He said more people would seek medical treatment if the camp was to happen more regularly.
“The hospital is far away and it’s always full. If these doctors keep coming, many blind people will see,” he said.
More than 200 refugees and locals underwent surgical operations to remove cataracts during the health week which ended on Friday.
“Cataract is a condition where a layer is formed on top of the eyes to make a person’s vision clouded,” Mwangi said.
In Turkana, the condition was mainly old age problem and the the result of the sun’s ultra violet rays. The dust storms contain bacteria that also causes cataract.
Twenty one doctors and nine medical graduates from Turkey teamed up with 13 Kenyan doctors to offer free services during the health week. The services included paediatric surgery, gynaecological treatment and dental care.
The services were offered at Lodwar Referral Hospital and the General Hospital at Kakuma. Several other camps were also put up.
WITCHDOCTORS
John Ichuloi sought the services from neighbouring Marsabit county. He had suffered a snake bite in July last year.
Ichuloi followed the traditional treatment routine of sucking out the venom, but his leg remained swollen.
“I’ve applied many herbs on the wound and it looked like it was finally healing. I don’t know what happened,” he said.
He said many residents believe in traditional medicine. To them, the herbs should work unless some witchdoctor was after someone’s life.
“We don’t have time to go to the hospital. That’s for people in town. It is not the first time I have suffered a snake bite. It happens many times to many people and our traditional medicine works just fine. I don’t know who wants me to die,” he said.
Turkish doctor Ahmet Cevik said Ichuloi’s wound had developed an infection which spread fast because of the bite.
“We shall promptly assess the extent of the infection and put him on antibiotics. Even the simplest of infections can cause amputation and even be fatal if left untreated,” Cevik said.
He said most patients attended to were in dire need of medical attention. “I’m happy to offer my services free of charge to them. They really need it.”
The expansive Turkana county, with slightly over a million residents has only two public hospitals which can provide specialised treatment for cataract. Many residents do not have access to affordable healthcare.
The health week was sponsored by Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency.
It was the fourth time TIKA was holding a medical camp in the area. “We chose Kakuma due to the limited funding and resources the local community gets,” Sukru Cansizoglu said.
Cansizoglu is the head United Nations High Commission for Refugees at the Kakuma Refugee Camp.