Ashanti and Northern Region, Ghana Program Details

 

Location

Unite For Sight Global Impact Fellows work with long-time partner Dr. Seth Wanye, MD, and his ophthalmic staff at Eye Clinic of Tamale Teaching Hospital and Friends Eye Centre, and in villages throughout the Ashanti and Northern Regions of Ghana. Through 2011, the majority of Dr. Wanye's time will be spent at Eye Clinic of Tamale Teaching Hospital, and Global Impact Fellows will therefore primarily work with him in Tamale. Friends Eye Centre is a new eye clinic-in-development that is based in Kumasi, which is located in southern central Ghana’s Ashanti region, and will provide eye care in the Ashanti Region as well as in the Northern Region. 

Date Options

Volunteers may combine dates and participate in more than one session for multiple months, up to a year, if desired. Volunteers may optionally pursue a research study in the Global Impact Lab. Any filled programs are crossed off.

2011

2012

Program Overview

Unite For Sight’s Global Impact Fellows and the local ophthalmic nurse are transported by van to the villages in the morning, and then return to Tamale or Kumasi in the late afternoon or evening.   In the remote rural villages located 1-7 hours from the eye clinic, the local ophthalmic nurse provides exams, diagnosis, treatment, and eyeglasses.  The Global Impact Fellows assist the local staff in the village outreaches.  Patients requiring surgery or advanced ophthalmic care are transported to the eye clinic, where Dr. Wanye provides ophthalmic care.  All patients screened in Unite For Sight's programs receive free surgery funded by Unite For Sight so that no patient remains blind due to lack of funds.

In the village outreach programs, volunteers assist the ophthalmic staff in all aspects of the eye care programs. They take patient history, test visual acuity, assist the ophthalmic nurses, distribute medication and eyeglasses prescribed by the ophthalmic nurse, provide eye health education in the villages and schools, and help with the coordination of patient surgeries.

Educational Opportunities

Volunteers have an opportunity to observe cataract and pterygium surgeries provided at the eye clinic. Those interested in ophthalmology and optometry also have opportunities to learn ophthalmic and optometric skills from the ophthalmic nurses and from Dr. Wanye.

Patients See Results

Unite For Sight has worked with Dr. Wanye since 2005 to build his local capacity to provide eye care for patients living in extreme poverty in Northern Ghana. During 2007, Unite For Sight coordinated and funded 1,594 sight-restoring surgeries provided by Dr. Wanye in Tamale. In 2008, Dr. Wanye provided 1,887 surgeries that were sponsored by Unite For Sight. In 2009, Dr. Wanye provided 2,661 surgeries sponsored by Unite For Sight. In 2010, Dr. Wanye provided 2849 cataract surgeries. He is is establishing a new eye clinic in Kumasi which focuses on an expanded reach to eliminate preventable blindness throughout the Northern and Ashanti Regions of Ghana.

Who is eligible?

This program is suitable to anyone 18 years and older who has an interest in international service and health. Volunteers range from gap year students, undergraduate students, and medical students to public health students, public health professionals, nurses, educators, opticians, optometrists, ophthalmology residents, ophthalmologists, filmmakers, photographers, and others.

What will I do?

Standard Volunteers

Volunteers assist the ophthalmic nurses in all aspects of the eye care programs. They take patient history, test visual acuity, assist the eye nurse, distribute medication and eyeglasses prescribed by the eye nurse, provide eye health education in the villages and schools, and help with the coordination of patient surgeries. Volunteers also have an opportunity to observe the surgeries provided by Dr. Wanye at the eye clinic.

Eye Care Professional Volunteers

Emirates Airline Foundation has generously donated free airline tickets for optometrists and ophthalmologists to work with Unite For Sight's partner eye clinics in Ghana. Ophthalmologists participating for at least 1 week, and optometrists participating for at least 4 weeks, are eligible for the donated airline tickets. The donated airline tickets are limited and available on a first come, first serve basis to accepted applicants.

Ophthalmologist volunteers work daily with Dr. Wanye to provide ophthalmic care and perform surgeries. Ophthalmologists also provide skills transfer. Optometrists work with Dr. Wanye's ophthalmic nurses to provide optometric care in rural villages.

Filmmaker and Photography Volunteers

Unite For Sight filmmaker and photographer volunteers document the voices of patients who receive sight-restoring eye care through Unite For Sight programs. The videos and photos promote awareness and information about global eye care needs and also demonstrate the commitment and dedication of Unite For Sight's local partner eye doctors who work tirelessly to provide eye care to those living in extreme poverty. The opportunity allows students, filmmakers, and photographers an opportunity to learn about development issues while making a significant impact.

Living and Lodging Expenses

Volunteers lodge in a rented house in Tamale. Lodging is $15 per day, and food costs no more than $10 per day.

Depending on flight arrival and departure schedules, volunteers may lodge for 1-2 days in Accra at the Telecentre Bed and Breakfast, which costs $20/day for double occupancy. Food expenses in Accra are approximately $10/day.

Volunteers are picked up from the airport in Accra and brought by car to Tamale. The gas for the 4-5 hour ride costs approximately $30-$50 per volunteer.

Special Section For Students: Academic Credit, Clinical Rotations, and Research

This program is suitable for undergraduate and public health students interested in pursuing an internship for academic credit, as well as for medical and optometry students interested in pursuing a clinical rotation for academic credit. You should consult your academic institution regarding how you can arrange this type of course credit. Unite For Sight will complete student performance evaluations required by a university so that a student can receive academic credit. We can also provide a letter for the university that confirms a student's planned participation in the Unite For Sight program, as well as details regarding the student's pre-departure online global health coursework and global health field participation. Please read the Academic Credit section of the Unite For Sight website.

This program is also appropriate for undergraduate students, medical students, optometry students, and public health students who would like to pursue a community-based field research project, which requires that the student have a faculty mentor at their home institution as well as IRB approval. Those interested in research should read the Global Impact Lab and Entrepreneurial Volunteering sections of the Unite For Sight website.

Volunteer Perspectives: In Their Own Words

"It was a regular day during a semester filled with biochemistry and other assorted sciences when I sat down at my computer to check my email. My flooded inbox contained many items that I expected to find from professors and friends of mine. There was one message, however, that really grabbed my attention. The Schreyer Honors College was informing their students of an organization called Unite For Sight that battles blindness around the world by partnering with local eye clinics to provide socially responsible global health to some of the world’s poorest countries. At the time, I had no idea that this simple email would change my plans for the summer and, ultimately, the way I view medicine...If you’re planning on working with Unite For Sight, be ready for a little bit of magic to happen. An open mind, some hard work, and the ability to be flexible really can enable you to help make a difference in the world, one set of eyes at a time."--Erik Auker, Global Impact Fellow in Ghana. Read Erik's complete narrative at "My Experiences as a Global Impact Fellow in Tamale, Ghana"

"In addition to gaining experience delivering care through an NGO, Unite For Sight’s collaboration with the Ghana Health Services allowed for an even more significant learning experience.  From discussions with Ghanaian ophthalmologist Dr. Wanye, I learned about Ghana’s nationalized health care, how the government health care system pays medical personnel, and the role of public and private care. Through my Unite For Sight internship in Ghana, these additional opportunities to learn about health care fostered a greater foundation for me as I pursue a career in global health, one in which I will both see patients and work to improve systems of health care delivery in local communities.  Having finished my summer internship with Unite For Sight, I am only more curious about variations in cultural understandings of sickness and variations in health care delivery globally.  I have gained more confidence in the pursuit of my career goals, and I look forward to future medical work experiences abroad." --Nicole Penwill, Global Impact Fellow in Ghana. Read Nicole's complete narrative at "My Experiences as a Global Impact Fellow in Tamale, Ghana"

"The three weeks I spent volunteering with Unite For Sight as a Global Impact Fellow in Tamale, Ghana were some of the most interesting and rewarding of my life, combining the opportunity to learn about life in Ghana, a country new to me, experience the challenges of improving global health and do concrete, useful work to help others... I had such a positive experience with Unite For Sight this past summer and am thrilled to be working as a Williams College Campus Representative this school year.  I hope to be able to spread the word about the amazing work Unite For Sight does by telling people about my experience as a Global Impact Fellow in Tamale."--Sophie Brigstocke, Global Impact Fellow in Ghana. Read Sophie's complete narrative at "My Experiences as a Global Impact Fellow in Ghana"

"It has been two months since I returned from Ghana, though many of my memories are vivid enough to feel as if I only came home yesterday. After this whole experience, I feel as if my desire to become a physician and serve others has increased a thousand fold. I hope to return to Ghana and Africa one day, as I found three weeks to be far too short. I am definitely looking forward to the future and feel more motivated than ever to continue my involvement in global health."--Maggie Lovett, Global Impact Fellow in Northern Ghana. Read Sophie's complete narrative at "My Experiences as a Global Impact Fellow in Ghana"

"I could not have begun trying to construct social entrepreneurial ventures without the foundation provided by UFS's global health conference, the extensive pre-departure volunteer training, and the actual on-the-ground experience I gained while abroad on the UFS program. This is why I whole-heartedly recommend the UFS program to anyone interested in global health and international development, public health policy, medicine, social entrepreneurship, nonprofits, human rights, development economics, anthropology, advocacy, or public service."--Celia Gellman, Global Impact Fellow in Tamale, Ghana. Read Celia's "Reflections on Entrepreneurial Volunteering in West African Villages"

"At Stanford University, I had studied a great deal about inadequate access to healthcare and the health disparities still existing in the world today; however, such issues did not become real for me until I witnessed the debilitating effects of such problems first-hand in Ghana. My Unite For Sight internship opened my eyes to the work that remains to be done in developing countries, and showed me the importance of establishing sustainable projects that empower individuals to help their local communities long after the volunteers are gone. Since my time in Tamale with Dr. Wanye, I have gone on other global service trips, and I know that international health is the area in which my passion for medicine lies. After attending medical school, I hope to continue serving abroad and help to establish training facilities that will assist communities world-wide, just as Unite For Sight has done."--Joyce Ho, Global Impact Fellow in Tamale, Ghana. Read Joyce's "My Experience Volunteering in Tamale, Ghana"

"On an average day of surgery, Dr. Wanye worked nonstop for six hours, seeing 10 patients and operating on 13 eyes with mature cataracts. The procedure itself was twenty minutes and involved using basic tools, many of which I was confident I could find in my medical pharmaceutical lab kit from high school. On one of the outreaches we encountered an eight-year-old girl who was blind. She had been born with bilateral cataracts. In the states, the cataracts would have been removed right after birth, never given the opportunity to mature. Dr. Wanye had to perform surgery for merely forty minutes to give the girl the gift of sight. Without the service and support of Unite For Sight volunteers thousands of Tamale Ghanaians would be suffering from preventable or curable eye conditions."--Farhana Begum, Global Impact Fellow in Tamale, Ghana. Read Farhana's "The View From Ghana:"

"Some patients that had only the ability to sense motion in one eye saw improvement in that they would only need refraction to see normally. One younger man had had a congenital cataract in one eye that had blinded him. He left the clinic, and at a one-week post-operative examination, he was able to see with perfect vision, 6/6. These results in the clinic were phenomenal; however, it was the reaction of the people in town that allowed me to truly gauge the impact of my work in the clinic. Walking through town, people would stop me by saying, "Do you remember my father? He can see so well now. Thank you so much" or "My sister, she is so happy now. Thank you." These responses are those that allow us sense that we have touched and helped so many others."--Vanessa Hux, Global Impact Fellow in Tamale, Ghana. Read Vanessa Hux's "New Visions: Working in the Eye Clinic in Tamale, Ghana"

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