Cataract Chronicles-25 years
As I celebrate my 25th year volunteering as an eye surgeon in Southeast Asia. I am delighted to share photos and stories about the vision challenges and the people and cultures of India, Nepal, Cambodia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Vietnam. - Dr. Gary Barth
Chronicle 30 - In Myanmar, a much-needed ophthalmic school never got launched
My cataract surgery-enabling buddies, Jack Blanks, Gary Hahn, and I started a medical non-profit, 501(c)(3), BBH Eye Foundation, to attempt to facilitate cataract surgery as well as get prescription glasses into the hands of the Myanmar people.
Here is one reason:
Myanmar, formerly Burma, has a population of 54 million, more than Cambodia and Afghanistan combined. Yet, amazingly, the country has never authorized the profession of optometry or provided a path for ophthalmic assistants to prescribe, fabricate, and dispense glasses.
Shown here is an example of the Myanmar reading card. Ask yourself how you would fare in the modern world deciphering this language without reading glasses.
You can quickly understand why the population would welcome our attempts to create an ophthalmic assistant school that would allow easier access to glasses.
Under the guidance of a Myanmar Buddhist Abbot, we secured the classrooms, the curriculum, lodging, and food for the two-year program.
Unfortunately, COVID and a military coup halted our programs. The military junta has used the hospital and has a camp set up next to it. We are no longer able to visit the site for the school. It is one of the most dangerous areas in the civil war zone.
