Alimi Hassen, 80, had been blind for 7 years. After his eyesight was restored, he hugs his surgeon, Dr. Matt Oliva from the Himalayan Cataract Project. Jason Beaubien/NPR
The blind have descended in droves on the Bisidimo Hospital in Eastern Ethiopia.
The Himalayan Cataract Project is hosting a mass cataract surgery campaign at the medical compound that used to be a leper colony. For one week a team from the nonprofit has set up seven operating tables in four operating rooms and they’re offering free cataract surgery to anyone who needs it.