Alice Udagbo, 'Mama' has had her life turned around by sight restoring cataract surgery in Cross River State, Nigeria © Sightsavers

Mama's Independance

Alice Udagbo or ‘Mama' has lived in Bekwarra in Cross River State, Nigeria, for her whole life. Judging by the crowds of children who surrounded her when Sightsavers visited, Mama is clearly loved and respected not just by her children and many grand-children, but by the whole community.

Sight restoring surgery

Mama suffered from deteriorating sight for several years to the point where she could only perceive movement and light. Mama was unable to go out into the community and needed her children's assistance with even the most routine of tasks. An outreach doctor working for the Cross River State Eye Care Programme, a project supported by Sightsavers and our partners in the region, identified Mama as suffering from cataract in both eyes and in a matter of weeks she was receiving sight restoring surgery.

I wasn't scared to be operated on, I knew it would help.

Since the operation Mama's vision has improved dramatically, and she now regularly goes out into her village to weave baskets and trade at the local market. Mama is living independently again and is grateful for her improved quality of life:

"I can see all of this, I can see the colours, thank you".

Cross River State is in an oil producing region of Nigeria that accounts for 90% of the national income, but is characterised by extreme poverty among its rural people. Sightsavers and our local partners, which include the State Ministries of Health and Education, the Local Government Service Commission, Youthcare, the Catholic Diocese of Ogoja and the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, established the Cross River State Eye Care Programme in 2004.

A big success

The programme aimed to establish sustainable eye care services for 50% of the communities within the state, to increase government commitment to providing healthcare and to create and increase awareness amongst local people. The programme has proved a big success.

A huge recent achievement was the completion of renovations at the Eye Centre at the General Hospital in Ugep, which enabled 522 successful surgeries to be carried out last year, of which 485 were sight restoring cataract operations. Staff have also been trained to provide eye care services in the rural regions and the number of people aware of the services being provided is growing ever wider.

The programme has made solid progress in attaining its initial targets and has the potential to achieve a lot more, although there remains a huge amount of work to be done. Fortunately, in Mama the programme has an avid supporter who is happy to speak of her experience and encourage others to get treatment.