The demand for eye care services in Timor is not only greatly needed in the East, but also in the West, particularly on the island of Sumba. Dr Mark Ellis, ETEP’s team leader to Maliana, is a strong ambassador for the ETEP’s partner program, the Sumba Eye Program.
Sumba is one of the three main islands forming the Nusa Tenggara Timur. The island has a population of over 600,000 and is one of the poorest undeveloped islands in Indonesia with few resources depending on agriculture with poor soil and constant drought.
Since 2008, the Sumba Eye Program has conducted annual eye camps in partnership with the Sumba Foundation, an NGO based in West Sumba funded in the USA and Australia. The volunteer teams consist of two ophthalmologists, three optometrists and two nurses who mainly operate on cataract removal. The aim of the Program is to provide service and education of local health staff. For the future, the Program aims to identify a local Sumbanese eye care nurse and commission a small eye clinic.
During the annual visit to Sumba in July 2011, Rotary produced a short video to give us a small insight into the Program’s work. Please click on the image below to watch it.
