U.S. Ambassador Witnesses Sight Restored in Eastern Ethiopia
Last month, Cure Blindness Project had the distinct honor of hosting His Excellency Ervin Massinga, United States Ambassador to Ethiopia, during a high-volume cataract surgical outreach at Bisidimo Hospital in the Harari Region.
What began as a courtesy visit quickly transformed into something far more profound.
Board Chair Dr. Matt Oliva invited Ambassador Massinga to personally remove the eye patches from patients the morning after their surgeries—a ritual that never loses its magic, no matter how many thousands of times our teams have witnessed it.
As the first bandage came off, a woman in her late sixties blinked, focused, and then broke into an incandescent smile as she saw the faces of her family clearly for the first time in over a decade.
She reached out instinctively toward her daughter, tears mixing with laughter. The packed outreach erupted in spontaneous applause and ululation. Even the usually reserved Ambassador was visibly moved.
“Witnessing patients regain their vision is nothing short of inspiring,” the U.S. Embassy later shared on social media. “It is proof of what collaboration between dedicated organizations, local health workers, and international partners can achieve when we work together toward a common goal.”
Cure Blindness Project began supporting partners in Ethiopia in 2008—starting with just a handful of surgeons and a borrowed operating theater to now performed sight-restoring surgery for nearly 850,000 people across the country. Cure Blindness Project worked in partnership with Ethiopia’s Ministry of Health to contribute to their national eye health strategy.
Since 2012, USAID funds totaling over $12M USD have contributed to Cure Blindness Project infrastructure initiatives that have strengthened systems in Ethiopia and other countries where we work.
