Perry medical students visit Kenya to help with eye care

Special to the Journal

In May 2013, Perry residents and medical students Riley Sanders and Sarah Jansen traveled to work in a rural clinic at the Segera Mission in Northern Kenya.

The Segera Mission is a nonprofit organization that encompasses a church, clinic, malnutrition program, school for grades kindergarten through second grade, clean water initiatives, and a women and orphans program. This organization serves nearly 12,000 people within a 400 square mile radius. The clinic provides medical care for thousands of people who would otherwise have no access to health care, clean water, or food.

Sarah is a registered nurse who is going to pursue her MD. She began her work with the mission a few years ago and has volunteered her time on many occasions.

Riley recently finished his first two years of medical school at Ross University School of Medicine and is interested in pursuing the field of Ophthalmology. Riley first became interested in eye care at a young age through his parents and through his work at Eyesight Associates as an ophthalmic technician.

As an aspiring ophthalmologist, Riley visited the Segera Mission along with Sarah and saw over one hundred patients in need of ocular care. Prior to his visit, there has never been an optometrist or ophthalmologist to visit the mission.

Riley and Sarah teamed up with the primary physicians who work at the clinic and provided vision screenings, glasses, and eye drops to patients in need. On their last night at the mission, Riley was honored with an authentic Maasai ceremonial scepter in exchange for his work at the clinic.

Their trip was made possible by many generous donations and support they received prior to his trip. Special thanks goes out to several local eye care professionals – Dr. Matt Dixon of Advanced Eyecare , Dr. Bill Conrad and his wife Peggy Conrad, and Dr. Johnny Gayton and the team of Eyesight Associates for donating their lensometry skills and equipment used for eye exams. Riley would also like to thank the citizens of Middle Georgia who donated hundreds of pairs of glasses that he used during his trip.

For more information about the Segera Mission, visit http://segeramission.org/

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