MSU student to help eye care in Ghana

When people want to go somewhere warm for winter break, most people would think about California or Florida, not Ghana. But Elaine Brantley will be going to the country with Unite for Sight Inc. in January to help prevent blindness in local citizens. Brantley is a senior interdisciplinary studies in social science and health studies major with a specialization in African studies, international development and bioethics. According to Unite for Sight, 80 percent of blindness is curable or preventable. Unite for Sight is partnering with a local clinic, diagnosing and treating eye diseases in the field year-round. Brantley is leaving Jan. 1 and will be there for 10 days.

The State News:

How did you get involved with Unite for Sight?

Elaine Brantley:

My aunt is a sociology professor and she was contacted about the program and she sent me an e-mail. I checked out their Web site and I like what they had to say so I signed up to volunteer that day.

SN: What does Unite for Sight do?

EB: They try to eliminate preventable blindness in developing countries such as Ghana, India and Honduras. They work to promote general eye health among those people.

SN: What will you be doing on the trip?

EB: I will be taking general health care backgrounds as well as doing visual screenings, and I’m working with an ophthalmologist from Michigan and they’re teaching me to do the screenings. We’re working in Accra so we’re working with people in rural areas right outside Accra and people who otherwise wouldn’t have access to eye health care.

SN: How were you trained for what you will be doing?

EB: I’m meeting with the ophthalmologist in Michigan for three days. I’ve already had one training session, and I go with her to her patients and shadow her and she teaches me what to look for with the different scopes and tools.

SN: Why did you decide to do this?

EB: My sophomore year I volunteered with Tower Guard and they taught me about visual impairment and how students’ lives are affected by their visual impairment. I’ve also been on another medical mission in the Dominican Republic that I really enjoyed. I’ve also studied Hausa, which is a West African language that they speak in parts of Ghana, for about three years. I started a group on campus called “Hausa Cultural Society” and we meet once a week for a roundtable session.

SN: Is it possible for students to sign up for trips?

EB: Of course, they have trips all year round for any length of time that you can do it. Mine happens to be over winter break. All you do is go to uniteforsight.org and click on volunteer information.

Published on Tuesday, September 30, 2008