Imran: Tell me about your trip in general. Where did you go? With whom?

Mohammed: I traveled to Tabora, Tanzania, a small city that is about 500 miles northwest of Dar es Salaam to participate in an eye camp. We, a group of 40 volunteers, left from Dar es Salaam on Saturday, December 23, and returned to Dar es Salaam on December 27. The eye camp itself ran from December 23 to December 26. Our volunteer group was made up of participants ranging from age 4 to age 70. Only a few of us were medical professionals, but the majority were in other professions or students and participated in this event just out of the goodness of their heart. The organization that organized this event is called Bilal Muslim Mission. They are a charitable, non-profit organization that is based out of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and are involved in serving in the fields of education, medicine, and social welfare. 

Imran: That sounds like a great opportunity! What made you decide to go at this time?

Mohammed: I had always wanted to do a medical mission trip and looked for organizations that I could truly make an impact with. I found this organization while in Tanzania and asked the administrators if I could possibly join them. They were more than welcoming in allowing me to come and were so eager to have an outsider who could see the work they do.

Imran: What was your daily routine like?

Mohammed: The eye camp was set up in two places. The first place was an English primary school where registration, screening, optometry and ophthalmology and the checkout were located. The second location was at the local hospital were patients were transported to if they needed a cataract surgery. My daily routine consisted of waking up around 6 am to eat breakfast at 6:30 and then walk to hospital around 7 am. At the hospital, patients who had a cataract surgery the day before would be lined up waiting to get their bandages removed and for further instructions from the ophthalmologists. I would assist the nurses and ophthalmologist in removing the bandages and cleaning the wounds. After, I would distribute medicine and instructions for how the patient should adequately take care of their wounds. 

Imran: Sounds like a busy day already, and you haven’t even seen the new patients!

Mohammed: So after all the post-op patients would be dismissed, the new patients would start to line up and I would have to go through those patients and get their names and distribute their paperwork to them. I would finish this work around 10 am and head to the school to assist there. At the school, I would do work wherever they needed me. Often, I worked in the visual screening station where we would use Snellen Charts to measure the patient’s visual acuity. Based on their score, we would either send them to optometry or ophthalmology. In addition, I worked in the pediatric clinic with Dr. Karim Manji, an associate professor at Harvard T.H Chan School of Public Health. Dr. Manji was in charge of almost 100 children each of the four days we were there. The checkout center was an extremely busy place to volunteer as I had to read the optometrist and ophthalmologist’s orders on which prescription glasses to give as well which medications to give. I would often have to retrieve the glasses and then direct the patients to other volunteers who would explain how to use the medicine and check if the glasses were right. I would often eat lunch around 3 pm and then eat dinner after we had finished seeing patients and cleaning up for the day which was around 8 or 9 pm each night. 

Imran: Sounds like an exhausting experience, but from you how have described it, very fulfilling. What was the most rewarding part?

Mohammed: The most rewarding part of my experience was to see the reactions of patients after they gained their eyesight back or even after they received a pair of glasses and could see clearly for the first time.

Imran: Any specific stories you would like to share?

Mohammed: The most amazing story that I encountered was an 87 year old lady who had blind for 13 years due to bilateral cataracts and was finally able to see after having both cataracts removed. There were many other stories of children who had congenital abnormalities leading to cataracts who could finally see. In addition, I was amazed by the conditions that some of the pediatric patients had. When we learn about some of the rare conditions in class, we often put it at the back of our mind due to little possibility of ever seeing patients who will have them. However, when I was in the pediatric clinic with Dr. Manji, he pointed out a bunch of the conditions we consider rare such as congenital rubella and it was shocking to see how vast the differences are between our worlds.

Imran: What a wonderful opportunity! I am glad you were able to make such a difference in patients’ lives while also learning a lot and seeing these rare conditions that we only read about in textbooks. Were there any challenges that your team faced?

Mohammed: There were many challenges that our team faced while we were staying in Tabora. Although many volunteers had previously participated at eye camps, the sheer number of patients present was overwhelming. Over four days, we had 5367 general patients, 322 cataract patients, and 486 pediatric patients. Registering each patient and limiting their wait times throughout was one of our biggest problems. There were only a limited number of volunteers but an extreme number of patients. Even with all of the volunteers continuously working, patients had tremendous wait times; however, the understanding and patience that these people showed was incredible. Some patients would stand in line for multiple hours just to be screened, yet would never complain to us about anything. Their patience and respect for all the volunteers was absolutely amazing. In addition, coming from America, I had my own problem with language. Most of the patients only spoke Swahili and I had a very difficult time trying to communicate with them. However, even with my terrible communication skills, these patients still respected me and never once got upset at me when I had to use my hands to direct them. 

Imran: Wow – over 5000 patients in 4 days! Sounds like quite an impact your team made during your stay. Any idea on how you can build on your progress and provide a lasting impact on their community?

Mohammed: Trips such as these especially eye camps can provide a lasting impact on a community. Many of the patients we saw had not been to a physician for their entire life and had never had their eyes checked before. This trip provided that opportunity for them and gave them the awareness regarding how to take care of themselves and their eyes. In addition, the glasses, medicine and information that they were provided can lead to a better and healthier quality of life.

Imran: You’ve volunteered at our clinic before – a place where underserved patients are provided care. How does your experience in Tanzania compare to your work in our clinic or other free clinics here in KC? Any similarities and differences?

Mohammed: Our work in free clinics in KC and my work in Tanzania are comparable in that both attempt to treat the underprivileged patients. However, the main difference between the two are the sheer number of patients and the nature of patients. To be able to treat almost 5400 patients in a span of four days is task that would be very challenging to accomplish in Kansas City or even in most American cities. However, there are definitely differences in the treatment provided in our local clinics and in the care I provided in Tanzania. In the KC Free Eye Clinic, we do a number of exams on our patient and then send them to the optometrist/ ophthalmologist. To be able to do all of these exams and have the resources for them is a blessing that cannot be found in Tanzania. The restrictions in the resources including time provides a limit on how effective our care can be. Experiencing this nature of work has given me a new perspective on how important our work in local free clinics is and the true states of those underprivileged patients.

Imran: Thank you for your service, both at KCFEC and abroad. And we really appreciate you willing to talk about your experience!