St John—helping people in Palestine see

Fact …The rate of blindness is 10 times higher in Palestine than in any other developed country, such as Australia.

Discussion pointCould you imagine if you had an eye problem, not being able to get to a doctor to be provided with care for the condition? What would you do in this situation?

Did you know……that over 900 years ago St John established a hospital in Jerusalem? Jerusalem is the capital of Israel which is located in the Middle East. This hospital still operates today just south of Jerusalem and is known as the St John Eye Hospital. The health professionals’ that work at the hospital work hard at helping the people of Palestine with the widespread problem of eye disease. They are the only provider of crucial eye care in the occupied Palestinian territory.

About occupied PalestinePalestine is located right next to Israel. Palestine is an area that has experienced a lot fighting and violence for hundreds of years. Conflict still happens there today, with fighting often breaking out between Palestine and Israel.

As a result of the conflict, there is a lot of poverty and hardship, and access to specialist health care (like nurses, doctors and specialist health professionals) is not easy to come by. Not only do people there not have the money to access health care, it is dangerous to travel in the area due to the armed conflict.

In Palestine, many children experience serious eye complications such as glaucoma, cataracts and trauma-related injuries, from a young age. A lot of eye disease in Palestine is a result of poor health such as diabetes and poor diet. These problems are also made worse by not being able to access health care when it is needed.

National Ophthalmic WeekSt John Ambulance Australia

13-15yrs

Discussion pointWhat do you know about the Middle East? What do you think the environment is like there? How do you think people access food and water in a desert environment?

How does St John Ambulance Australia help?Each year, St John in Australia raises money to support the important work of the St John Eye Hospital in Jerusalem. The funds from St John in Australia go towards funding outreach nurses who visit people in their communities, bringing health care to people in need. This hospital is the only charitable provider of crucial eye care in the occupied Palestinian territory, treating tens of thousands of patients each year. This is why your help during Ophthalmic Week matters.

Activity 1—Life with cataract blindness You are going to spend a little time walking in Ahmed’s shoes.

Step 1—Pair up

Step 2—Get your craft on!You and your partner are going to create a pair of glasses. They are not normal glasses though! They are going to impair your vision to give you an idea of what it is like to experience cataracts.

Your leader will give you a template for creating your glasses and will have available all the materials you need. You might like to decorate your glasses if you have time.

First cut the glasses out by following the dotted line, including cutting out where the lenses would be (the bit you see through). Using the clear cellophane that your leader has provided, stick enough cellophane on the back of your glasses to create a lens (use glue or tape). Do this for both sides.

Now, using a black texta, create a few black splotches on your right lens only (smudge it a bit), then smear some Vaseline over it. Your left lens stays untouched. You’re best using the Vaseline on the front side of your glasses, so that the materials don’t get into your eyes.

Step 3—Walking in Ahmed’s shoesWith your partner, choose who will wear the glasses first. Your leader will give you a special task (or tasks) that you need to do with your special glasses on. Put them on and with the help of your partner, take a few minutes to complete the activity. Your partner’s job is to help you if you need it. Once one person has had a turn, swap roles.

Ahmed Elnajar lives in the Gaza Strip in a refugee camp with his parents, two brothers and three sisters. His house is small and only has two rooms. His father is currently unemployed, so there is very little money supporting the family.

Ahmed was hit in his right eye with a stone and his vision began to deteriorate. Ahmed started to have very blurry vision with black patches or spots. His father became worried about this when Ahmed was being teased at school because of the problem with his eye, so he took Ahmed to the local eye hospital in Gaza. The doctors there said Ahmed had developed a cataract (we will learn about cataracts shortly). Ahmed had surgery to try and fix the problem, but it was unsuccessful. It didn’t look like Ahmed would ever regain his sight.

Several relatives and neighbours suggested to Ahmed’s father that he take Ahmed to the St John Eye Hospital. They said the service was free, so Ahmed’s family did not have to worry about payment. He did this, and Ahmed was immediately scheduled to have an operation to remove the cataract and replace it with a special synthetic (or man-made) lens that would help Ahmed see again. The operation was a great

success and Ahmed can now play with his friends and read and study at school. His family is very grateful for the help that St John freely gave.

Ahmed’s story

Ahmed playing soccer after his operation.

Activities

Activity 2—Wounds to the eye

With a partner, you are going to practice bandaging a person with a wound to the eye. Your leader will have a copy of Australian First Aid (AFA) or a print-out of the relevant page in the AFA which will demonstrate the steps involved.

The catch is that you are going to do it … blindfolded! Good luck!

Further interest questionFind out what an intraocular lens implant is, what it is for and what it does, and report back at your next divisional meet-ing. Some useful websites or pages for finding this informa-tion are:http://www.allaboutvision.com/conditions/iols.htmhttp://www.hollows.org.au/Assets/Files/info_sheet_cataract_blindness.pdfhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intraocular_lens

Bibliographyhttp://www.hollows.org.au/Assets/Files/info_sheet_cataract_blindness.pdfhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intraocular_lenshttp://kidshealth.org/kid/grownup/conditions/cataracts.html#http://www.rsb.org.au/Vision_Information/Cataracts.aspxhttp://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs282/en/

How and why do people get cataracts?

Cataracts occur when the natural lens of the eye becomes cloudy or damaged (locate the lens of the eye in the diagram above). The natural lens should be clear. When it becomes cloudy, it affects the way the eye’s lens interprets light, causing haziness or blurring of vision. For some people, cataracts are the result of disease (such as diabetes), poor diet or trauma involving injury to the lens of the eye (such as being exposed to chemicals or like Ahmed, being hit in the eye with a stone). There are also things thatincrease the risk of developing cataracts such as smoking,poor diet and unprotected exposure to the sun. This is why it is important to always have a healthy lifestyle and diet, and to keep your eyes shielded from the sun with a good pair of sunglasses!

What are cataracts?Imagine looking at the world through a heavily smudged or dirty window.

Cataracts are the leading cause of blindness in the world, particularly in developing countries. The World Health Organisation (2011) estimates that of the 284 million people in the world affected with a visual impairment, 33% are affected by cataract blindness.

How someone knows if they had cataracts?

The condition can vary in severity, starting with slight blurring of vision or haziness (like the smudged window scenario or like trying to look through heavy fog), light sensitivity or a loss of seeing the brightness of colours. It can gradually become very severe if left untreated, causing blindness.

This is what it is like to live with a mild case of cataract blindness. Cataracts can become much worse; they can even cause blindness—a total blackout.

Ahmed

Eye with mature cataract

Like this topic?Then why not complete the Eye Health Interest Badge? Talk to your leader about it today!

Lens

Step 4—Brainstorm thisYour leader will ask you to come back to the larger group. They will then lead a brainstorm on two topics:

1. What it was like to wear the glasses? 2. Think about what kinds of things having cataracts would prevent you from doing in your life?

Discussion pointHow do you think Ahmed felt about his situation? What would you do if you were bullied?

Notes

National Ophthalmic WeekSt John Ambulance Australia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

St John—helping people in Palestine see

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