Mass Cataract Surgery at Bunga Jadi Health Center, Muara Kaman, Kutai Kartanegara, East Kalimantan

The YPP team and a team of doctors from PERDAMI Kaltim Kaltara traveled 9 hours by road from Balikpapan to carry out mass cataract surgery for the underprivileged at Puskesmas Bunga Jadi, Muara Kaman, Kutai Kartanegara, East Kalimantan, on November 23-24, 2019.

Not in vain, as many as 51 cataract patients out of more than 150 patients who registered were successfully operated on and had their vision restored. Those who did not pass the screening were mostly due to high blood sugar, and some were not cataract blind, but glucoma or other eye diseases.

Residents and the Head of the Health Center are very grateful for this program, because their remote place and lack of facilities make it difficult for residents to seek eye treatment. The nearest hospital is in Tenggarong with a distance of 4-5 hours via a bad road, and not just far, the family's economy is also a major obstacle. Thus, residents tend to ignore their illnesses, leading to blindness due to glucoma and other eye diseases.