Providing Hope for the Future in Ghana
Throughout the month of February, HCP and its partners provided surgical outreach events throughout Ghana. An outreach event at the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital (CCTH) is where we met 13-year-old Lawrence Oduro.
Lawrence’s mother, Akua Asanowaa, a 48-year-old cocoa farmer, shared that when Lawrence was eight years old, he fell and suffered a cut below his left eye. A few months after it healed, he started complaining of headaches. His eye was red from scratching. As cocoa farmers, Akua and her husband didn’t have the financial means to get medical treatment for Lawrence — especially as he is one of eight children.
When given the opportunity to have Lawrence’s eyes checked at an HCP-sponsored eye screening event, they didn’t hesitate to attend. At the screening, it was confirmed that he needed surgery and it would be provided free of charge as part of the CCTHl outreach event.
Lawrence and his mother traveled from Brofoyedru, a community nearly 100 miles away, for Lawrence to undergo cataract surgery. His parents are hopeful his sight will improve significantly in the days to come.
His mother shared that Lawrence is a diligent student, striving to never miss class. She worried his eye condition might impact his performance at school but now that he has had surgery, she dreams he will get the education his parents did not.
“We will continue to support his education,” Akua said. “He enjoys fixing old radios and getting them to work again. Maybe we have a future engineer in our family.”
Outreach events provided by HCP and its partners provide hope to many and are made possible thanks to support from generous individuals like you.
