More than 200 residents of Dzolokpuita in the Ho West District of the Volta Region have benefited from a free eye screening and preventive eye care outreach organised by humanitarian organisation, Foundation Light for the Eye.
The Netherlands-based foundation, which focuses on improving access to eye care in underserved communities across Africa, said the outreach forms part of its commitment to supporting vulnerable people in Ghana through accessible healthcare services.
Speaking in an interview with Adom News, the founder of the foundation, Johannes Schoonhoven, said the organisation’s mission is rooted in compassion, dignity, and service to humanity.
“Our work is based on compassion, dignity, and service to humanity. We are not politically affiliated, and we do not come with political motives,” he said.
“We are also not driven by religious conversion or pressure. We come as human beings who believe that every person deserves access to proper eye care, respect, and the opportunity to see clearly and live with dignity,” he added.
According to him, although their faith in God inspires their humanitarian efforts, the foundation’s main focus is to provide genuine and practical healthcare support to vulnerable communities.
Over the years, the foundation has carried out similar outreach programmes in several parts of Ghana, including communities in the Volta Region and the Manya Krobo area in the Eastern Region.
Through these interventions, many residents have benefited from free eye examinations, vision screenings, consultations, reading glasses, prescription assessments, and referrals for specialised treatment.
Mr. Schoonhoven revealed that during previous outreach exercises, the team encountered many people who had never undergone professional eye examinations before.
He said this led to the detection of undiagnosed conditions such as cataracts, glaucoma, diabetes-related eye diseases, infections, and severe vision problems affecting people’s daily lives, education, and livelihoods.
As part of the ongoing outreach in Dzolokpuita, the foundation is working together with local volunteers, healthcare workers, churches, coordinators, and community leaders to deliver preventive and practical eye care services directly to residents.
Services provided during the exercise include free eye examinations, consultations, fundus photography, eye health assessments, early detection of eye diseases, low vision support, prescription and reading glasses, referrals for further treatment, and public education on eye health.
A medical doctor with the foundation, Bartender Van Den Broek, also urged residents to take eye screening seriously, stressing the importance of good vision in improving quality of life.
“Good vision can transform lives. It helps people to work, learn, care for their families, and live independently,” he said.
The foundation reaffirmed its commitment to continuing humanitarian eye care projects in Ghana, saying its mission is to build meaningful connections between Ghana and the Netherlands while improving the lives of vulnerable communities.
Residents who benefited from the exercise expressed gratitude to the foundation for what they described as a timely and life-changing initiative.
