ONE hundred and sixty-two cured lepers residing at the Ghana Leprosy Village in Ho in the Volta Region have undergone eye screening aimed at saving them from an added plight — blindness.
Some of them are now strong but are gradually going blind as a result of the leprosy they contracted some years ago.
The Life for the Living Medical Centre and Unite for Sight, two Ho-based non-governmental organisations (NGOs), organised the exercise, which was sponsored by an Irish NGO, Cross Cause Charity.
According to the Executive Director of the Life for the Living Medical Centre, Reverend Benjamin Bankas, out of the 162 cured lepers, 68 were identified with various eye problems, for which they were supplied with medicated glasses valued at GH¢1,400.
He said 20 others, who were diagnosed of cataract, had been referred to the Crystal Eye Clinic in Accra for further treatment before the end of the year.
One of the beneficiaries, Mr Kwakuvi Kualyawo, who said he had lived at the village for 30 years, expressed happiness that his sight was now better than before.
He commended the NGOs for coming to their aid.
The Assembly Member for the area, Madam Joycelyn Akorfa Ochlich, appealed to the government to establish a craft centre at the village to keep the inmates occupied and provide them with a means of livelihood.
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