The excitement of day 1 of the program has passed and now comes the serious work of dealing with so many eyes. Apart from the patients we knew were coming from Kioa and Rabi islands, many local people from Taveuni presented with a range of eye conditions. These issues were quickly sorted by the professionals with a number of ‘drop-ins’ set for eye surgery later in the day.
There are so many volunteers that really need a mention. The best way is to show you some of them in action and here are those photos:
Patient Stories from Today:
Ranjit Singh is a Taveuni local – and has been for all of his life. His parents came from Vanua Levu to work on a copra plantation and settled in Naiyalayala (which really means landmark in Fijian).
This area of Taveuni is well known to tourists as the site of the original international date line. Ranjit now lives with his wife near Soqulu. Soqulu is south of the main town of Taveuni called Nagara. Ranjit had surgery to one eye yesterday and is looking forward to having his other eye restored to sight this morning. He is the father of four boys. One son lives in the US, two have settled on Viti Levu and one remains on Taveuni.
Ranjit drove a taxi for 45 years. He knows his way around Taveuni well! However, he retired when he lost his public service taxi licence and now leaves the commercial driving to others.
Louisa Lavati from Kioa Island has an amazing tale to tell. She has eight children and forty-four grandchildren! What a remarkable achievement. She has been married for 49 years and is one of the original settlers to Kioa when she and her family travelled from Tuvalu. Her father, a doctor back in his home country, decided to try teaching for an occupation. The Fijian government paid for his training at the Nasinu Teachers College in Suva.
Louisa’s children were educated at the Kioa primary school (years 1-8) and then at Bucalevu High School, here on Taveuni. One of her daughters is at school in Tuvalu.
She is looking forward to today’s procedure and is confident that she will be able to see clearly in a few weeks.
Niu Lebaivalu comes from Qamea. Born on that island and did his primary school on Qamea. He went to high school in Suva. He and his wife and their three children are temporarily living in Wiwi village and two of the children attend Naselesele Primary. He loves meeting people and now works at Tides Reach Resort. He is a boat captain and tour guide. He is only 39 years of age and has a pterygium that will be attended to today.
Alipate Mailigoa (a traditional Samoan name) is from the village of Welagi. He has two children, fifteen grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren! Amazing. He used to work for the government repairing the roads of Taveuni but he now a farmer and a carpenter. His left eye has a nasty cataract which he has had to suffer for 12 years. And today is the day the cataracts are gone. He will be a changed man.
Merelita Tucika was born in Kanacea village, Vuna. She is married and lives at Welagi village and has had 10 children. She is 44 years of age – quite an achievement for a woman so young. The children, five boys and five girls, are between the ages of 9 and 23. She is the community health worker at Welagi. She has a pterygium that will be removed this afternoon. What a wonderful Fijian woman!
Eleni Veiqalitaki was born in lower village, Buca Bay, Vanua Velu. She married a Taveuni man, and they now live in Welagi village. They have 4 children and one little granddaughter. She has had a cataract in one eye for 11 years and is certainly looking forward to today’s surgery. Your reporter asked Eleni if she was frightened about the surgery or worried about pain. She said ‘my friends say there is no pain and nothing to worry about’