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SOUTH SUDAN — For years, the people of South Sudan have been dealing with civil wars, tribal conflicts, an alarming rate of blindness.
A group with the Moran Eye Center just returned from a medical trip to South Sudan. They say the Sudanese suffer from a high rate of blindess because basic eye care isn't available. Most suffer from cataracts, and a quick surgery just isn't available in the country.
The landscape of South Sudan is beautiful, but for doctors hoping to operate the conditions are less than ideal.
"The clinic out there was outside in a dirt pavillion," said Moran Eye Center technician, Jacqueline Pullos. "It was about 100 degrees."
The pests don't help with the operating environment either.
"We had everything from hedgehogs to toads to lizards, ants and giant wasps," said opthamologist, Charles Weber.
But for the hundreds of blind people in Sudan, it doesn't matter that the conditions are less than favorable. The patients sang songs to pass the time. For many, it was their first visit with a doctor.
"It's an incredible feeling to take off someone's patch and they're seeing for the first time in 15 or 20 years in some cases," Weber said.
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The group isn't just in the country to restore sight. It is also a mission of peace. The clinic is offering vision-restoring procedures in exchange for tribes attendance in a "peace circle."
"We offered to each of their warring tribes, 15 of their blind that we were sure we could cure," said Opthamologist, Alan Crandall.
John Dau, a Sudan native who fled the country as a child helped lead the discussion.
"With their renewed eyesight and their renewed true vision on life they can see what it means to be a productive member of their tribe and society," Weber said.
The individuals that have the surgery have a chance to see life more clearly and perhaps work towards a common goal.
"To offer them something like vision, but also something like peace between them and their neighbors who have been fighting for generation," Weber said.
The group treated and restored vision to 250 people on their visit. This was their second year of a five year initiative to help the blind in South Sudan.