UAE | Health
Noor Dubai initiative keeps many a dream alive
Six children from Mali are awaiting surgery to remove the cataracts they were born with - a surgery that can finally help them see the world.
- By Nina Muslim, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:07 October 2, 2008
- Six-month-old Hamadoun Fofana, born with congenital cataracts, will undergo surgery under the Noor Dubai scheme.
- Image Credit: Nina Muslim/Gulf News
Dubai: Six children from Mali are awaiting surgery to remove the cataracts they were born with - a surgery that can finally help them see the world.
These patients are among hundreds who have been helped or who are waiting to be helped by the Noor Dubai initiative, aimed at preventing and rectifying blindness in more than one million people worldwide.
The children, aged between six months and six years, have congenital cataracts. They are born with a film over their pupils that prevent them from seeing the world. They can only see light and dark.
Diarra Broulaye, a 36-year-old daily labourer from Mali, told Gulf News it seemed miraculous that six-year-old Esmail Diarra would soon undergo surgery to remove the cataracts at no cost.
The father of two earns $2 (Dh7.35) a day if he is lucky.
"I have no money for the operation. There was no possibility to operate on my son. I have to take care of my family, provide them with a house and food. I was afraid when he was born with the defect, because if he cannot see, he cannot live well," he said.
Fortunately for Broulaye and Esmail, the possibilities now seem to be endless - thanks to Noor Dubai. Like any other parent, Broulaye already has plans for his son.
'Good life'
"If he can see well, he will be able to go to school, learn and have a good life. I will enrol him in school immediately after this," he said, grinning.
"I want him to become a policeman because in my country, policemen make a lot of money," he added. Hawa Fofana, mother of six-month old Hamadoun, felt the same about her six-month-old son. Born with congenital cataracts, she has been worried about her son's future. "I accept his condition as God's will, but when he grows up, he may not be able to see. If he can see, he will have more choices in life," she said from her son's hospital bed.
Like Broulaye, she does not come from an affluent family. Her husband teaches children to recite the Quran and does not earn enough to afford the surgery.
Despite her belief that Hamadoun would finally get the surgery he needed, she admitted she was a bit nervous about her son going under the knife.
"I'm very happy he will have surgery, but he is crying so much that I feel worried," she said.
The little boy is teething and had slight diarrhoea, leaving him slightly dehydrated. His doctor said he would undergo surgery once he recovered.
First case: Iraqi woman cured
Moorfields Eye Hospital Dubai, the Dubai branch of the 200-year-old Moorfields London Eye Hospital, has treated its first case under the Noor Dubai initiative.
The first patient was an Iraqi woman with dense mature cataracts in both eyes. A bilateral cataract surgery was performed successfully by specialist consultants at Dubai Health Care City. The Iraqi woman was quickly followed by several others from Syria, Jordan, Oman and Sudan.
Pat Simons, chief nurse and operations manager at Moorfields, said: "We have treated a total of nine Noor Dubai patients from across the region so far."
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