If you’ve ever struggled with continuously blurred vision you will know what the gift of sight means.
A Rotary Club of Hermanus project continually helps restore eyesight, and last month saw the 100th cataract operation from the proceeds of its efforts. Called the Ferdi Marais Community Vision Project, in honour of the late Rotarian who inspired it, it is a collaboration with the Overstrand Department of Health’s Eye Clinic and the Radiance Foundation, a Cape Town NPO devoted to eye health.
Rotary’s commitment to improving the eyesight of the local community consists of three phases; the funding of 100 cataract operations, which was completed in October, and the donation of 194 pairs of reading glasses, with more being donated.
The third phase involves service to the community, a founding principle of Rotary International. Rotarians showed up in force to help with pre-screening of patients at the Swartdam public clinic in Zwelihle in May. This not only helps to spot vision problems early, but plays a huge role in saving the limited government funds available for optometric and ophthalmologic specialists.
Dr Johanna Fourie of the eye clinic emphasised the importance of eye screening, which can help to detect potentially serious vision problems such as cataracts and glaucoma. “It is important to know that after the age of 40, before buying readers, it is a good idea to get your eyes screened,” she said. “Glasses don’t cure everything.”
Of the patients Fourie saw in 2024, 34% had cataracts and 30% had glaucoma. The remainder was a mix of different diagnoses, including vision loss due to diabetes. “Glaucoma is the thief of sight,” she said. “Often a patient isn’t diagnosed until they are blind.” It consists of damage to the optic nerve, often caused by raised pressure in the eye, leading to vision loss and blindness. It can be contained with prescription medication.
A cataract is the opacity of the lens of the eye, a gradual blinding process. The Rotary Club stepped up to help with a backlog of patients waiting for cataract operations. Last year 60 patients, 20 at a time, were taken to the Eerste River Day Hospital in Cape Town, at the cost of R58 000 per 20 eyes. Rotary funded 40 more cataract surgeries this year, most recently in October.
“Last time we had three people who were legally blind,” Fourie said. “When they first come in they have to come with family, they are wheeled in. And when the come for the follow up they can walk in alone, unassisted.”
She relates stories of grandmothers helping grandchildren with homework for the first time, people being able to walk down the street, drive a car. One of the patients receiving surgery had got married recently. “Now she can see what a gem you really are,” she teased the husband.
Dr Fourie’s tales are endless, and never cease to be moving. Residents struggling with their vision should visit their local clinic, where the sister will administer an eye test and refer them to a doctor for further assessment. If cataracts are diagnosed, they are booked in to the Overstrand Eye Clinic, where they will be assessed and added to the cataract waiting list.
Currently 69 patients are on the waiting list, some of whom will require separate operations in both eyes. The average waiting period for cataract operations is two years, Fourie said, but placement is based on need or vision loss, not the date of referral. It is vital that patients provide their clinics with up-to-date contact details as Fourie phones when an opportunity for the cataract operation arises. “I try to call them three times,” she said. If they don’t answer the phone, they will miss out.
Rotary Club of Hermanus continuously fundraises to keep services such as the Vision Project operating in the future. The Bargain Box, its second-hand shop, is the major source of funding, and is thanks to the goodwill of the community.
Anyone wishing to help with the gift of sight could donate readers, especially 2.5 or 3.00 to the project. SpecSavers also helps with glasses for children under 12 years of age. “They are totally transformed,” Dr Fourie said of the patients after the cataract operations.
“One woman said it’s more than a gift, it’s a miracle.”
