Cataract screenings for Touws River residents

Humanitarian aid organisation, Gift of the Givers, has teamed up with Cape Town NPO, the Radiance Foundation, to provide cataract screenings for residents of Touws River.

This follows two large-scale medical interventions by the organisation in the Cape Winelands District.

About 30 residents, who were screened by ophthalmologists last year, headed to a private practice in Cape Town to be screened for cataracts this week.

The provincial Head of the Gift of the Givers Medical Team, Doctor Naeem Kathrada, says more than half of these residents will receive their surgeries, free of charge, at Eerste River Hospital in the coming weeks.

“This is where public/private participation needs to come in and this is what Gift of the Givers is trying to do – get private doctors who have all committed their time, using the facilities of the government and holding one another’s hands while making an impact. We used Touws River as a case study where we can look at streamlining this and getting it right.”

Some residents say they are delighted to be closer to having a clearer vision.