Ever since SeeKenya was born in 2010, our vision has been to create a place for the community to come and receive excellent eye care services, and later an eye care hospital to complement the clinic.
With the Covid-19 pandemic situation continuing, sadly, our clinics and whole operation are significantly affected. With the potential for a vaccine not arriving until much later for many developing countries, it’s clear that the impact of this coronavirus will be with us for many years to come. Our current pop-up clinics do not function well in light of social distancing and limited interaction, as our strategy is to see as many people as possible in as much time as we can.
This makes the need for a permanent base all the more crucial. With separate treatment and consultation rooms, an organised system to reduce waiting times and spaces, it is an efficient look to the future especially if Covid is still present. Our bi-annual clinics currently see around 2,500 people – which is no mean feat! Nonetheless, with a full-time clinic working with 5 optometrists, we could see up to 21,600 patients, serving Northern Kenya. While we will never turn away someone who needs our help, at times our hands are tied because of the limitations on us as a small charity. With that in mind, the use of a clinic that serves as both an optometric and ophthalmic clinic would expand our capacity and reach.
We have the structures in place (physically and figuratively!) to get this going. Our partners at Edfri International have made part of the Isiome Hope Centre available to be remodelled, and we have a blueprint for how this will pan out (see below). This would also allow for a medicine store, glazing lab for prescriptions, glasses dispensary and office space with quality specialist equipment to give the best service we can. Our budget is £584k, a huge sum of money, but not an impossible goal. Out intention is that once we have raised £250k, the building work can begin which we estimate will take 10-18 months until competition.
If you believe in our vision and mission, we are asking you to join us in this great adventure of bringing life-changing sight to thousands in Kenya. Whilst eye care may seem like a small part in helping people help themselves out of poverty, it is part of a much bigger picture. Without eye care, millions are limited in their ability to help themselves, their families and their communities to thrive.
The gift of sight is to enable children to go to school and flourish in class, and adults can maintain their jobs and therefore their income, independence, and most importantly, their dignity. This is the vision that we are aiming towards, will you join us on this journey?
You can find out more about the permanent clinic here, or get in touch with one of the team at info@seekenya.org to ask any additional questions or request a postal copy of our permanent clinic prospectus.
Written by Lizzi Joyner
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