Accents
By Julia Carreon-Lagoc

Through a glass clearly

“Through a glass darkly,” St. Paul tells us, “we do not now see, but at the end of time, we will do so clearly.”  Of course, the Apostle Paul was speaking metaphorically.  There are, however, kind souls who translate this figure of speech from the high perch of biblical quotes into its literal level.  One such group comes from the Rotary Club of Canterbury so that people may see, in a manner of speaking, through a glass clearly.
From far away Melbourne, Australia, eight volunteer-members of the Rotary Club of Canterbury shared the basic three—time, money, and effort—so the blind and sight-impaired among us would be able to see.  They came Oct. 2-11, they saw the need, acted with dispatch within the limited itinerary, and conquered the hearts of their beneficiaries many of whom are indigents.

It was most serendipitous that the Canterbury Rotarians were billeted at Chito’s Hotel where my husband Rudy and I are staying.  Coffee hour was spent in a friendly conversation, first with President Eusebio “Jack” Po of the Cataract Foundation Philippines, Inc.  Asked how the interest in eyesight treatment/enhancement came about, Jack Po said the idea originated some years past with the Sight-Savers of the Rotary Club of Bacolod North.  It expanded and grew with the involvement of his fellow Rotarians one of whom is Dr. Fortunato Eusebio, an ophthalmologist and current vice president of the Bacolod-based Cataract Foundation Philippines. The foundation is now well entrenched, its activities well defined, targets laid out with the help of Mavis Campos, the Program Manager.
 
The Cataract Foundation operates with the assistance of the Christian Blind Mission International, considered the world leader in “preventing and curing blindness and offering enabling care to the blind and other disabled in the developing world.”  It is also the umbrella organization of some 30 other humanitarian foundations.
 
It took the Rotary Club of Canterbury President Doug Hawley to make us see statistics we Filipinos ourselves are blind to.  “There are currently 500,000 blind people in the Philippines of which 68% is due to cataracts.  Majority of these blind people have preventable blindness.”  It is here where the Canterbury Rotarians enter the picture.  The visiting Australians are experts trained at vision screening—identifying the people with cataracts and bringing them into the system of healthcare in the Philippines.  The surgeons of the Cataract Foundation undertake the surgery and the Christian Blind Mission provides the lenses and the medicines.
 
What is the extent of the accomplishments?  In 2004 alone, 30,000 cataract surgeries were undertaken, Jack Po said.  Doug Hawley himself has been in the eye-screening project for seven years now, bringing the patients to attention and the subsequent medical action by partner organizations.  In the three days that they were in Iloilo, a number of Ilonggos availed themselves of the eye screening: in Tigbauan 120, San Joaquin 316, Dingle 107, and Guimaras 224.  That morning of Oct. 5 in Dingle alone, they found 32 operable cataract cases that show how much more need to be done.  The local Rotary Clubs of Bacolod North, Metro Iloilo, and Guimaras provided smooth operations to their brother and sister Rotarians by facilitating transportation and venues, explaining the mission’s objectives, gathering the people, and interpreting to the hometown folks whenever needed.

Making a difference is what the Canterbury visitors are doing.  Project veteran Doug Hawley says it best, and I quote: “The transition in lifestyle for beneficiaries of this project is dramatic. From being a person almost totally dependent on their extended family for daily living, the person can, with their cataracts removed, become independent again and can return to being a productive member of their family and local community.  I can tell you from personal experience that it is a wonderful experience to assist in a small way to help recover the eyesight of these people.”  And the wonder of it all happens when faces of loved ones come out from the shadows, the blurred page in the book becomes clear as splendid day, and the golden sunset is for another person to enjoy.

On their last night, Dr. Mete Madakbas did not join the group in dining out.  Instead, he sat down with us while Rudy and I were having dinner, and there began interesting tete-a-tete, Rudy having been to Melbourne in 1982 as a fellow of the UN Development Programme to observe labor arbitration cases in both Melbourne and Singapore.  Eye-screening was left out in the conversation as Dr. Madakbas, a physicist, talked about bioptics or image guided biopsy systems (because you cannot get a speck from the brain and have it biopsied on the petri dish), photonics technology, and shapes of things to come.

In the absence of a plaque of appreciation for the eight visiting Australians, I would like to mention them here: Team Leader Richard Pope, Doug Hawley, Helen Stevens, Averil Hawley, Brenda Birthistle, Mete Madakbas, Ian Cox, and Paul Rogers.  Rotarians all, and if I may say so, ambassadors of goodwill to whom doing good is not lip service.  By your deeds, in cooperation with the Cataract Foundation Philippines and the Christian Blind Mission, a grateful segment of humanity would be able to see, so to speak, through a glass clearly.  (Comments to lagoc@hargray.com)