MAY 5, 2023 | EYEWORLD DAILY NEWS | 27
ASCRS ANNUAL MEETING
DAILY NEWS
more than 55,000 patients blinded
by cataracts. Through her efforts,
the Namibian Blindness Prevention
Project is now largely a self-sustain-
ing organization, staffed by Helena
and five other well-trained Namibian
surgeons, and a committed group of
SEE International volunteer surgeons
from around the world.
In acknowledgment of her years
of work in the service of humani-
ty, Helena has received numerous
awards and accolades, including
the inaugural Nelson Mandela
Award, a prestigious honor conferred
by the United Nations only once
every 5 years.
are desperate for the chance to
see again and whose families need
them. They need your hands to help
them see again." Helena applied for
a residency in ophthalmology and
returned to East Germany where she
did her training at the University of
Saarland. Anxious to learn the basics
of running an eye camp for the poor,
Helena elected to do her field studies
in Tamil Nadu, India, where she for
the first time became part of an eye
surgery outreach program.
After completion of her training,
Helena was anxious to begin her
work in Namibia. At the advice of
the highly respected Zimbabwean
eye surgeon Dr. Solomon Gurama-
tunhu, Helena attended the 1995
ASCRS Annual Meeting and visited
the booth of Surgical Eye Expeditions
(SEE International). Dr. Guramatun-
hu introduced Helena to Dr. Harry
Brown, founder of SEE International,
and her career as an eye surgeon
dedicated to serving the poor began.
For the last 25 years, working
with SEE International's steadfast
support, generous supply donations
of Alcon Surgical, and the support of
the Namibian government, she has
led the Namibian Blindness Preven-
tion Project, which has provided
free sight restorative surgery to
