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2023 EyeWorld Daily News Friday

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26 | EYEWORLD DAILY NEWS | MAY 5, 2023 ASCRS ANNUAL MEETING DAILY NEWS around the world were recruited to the camp to teach the future leaders of an independent Namibia. Helena excelled in the school and soon came to the attention of one of the female leaders of SWAPO, Dr. Libertina Amathila, fondly called "Auntie Lib." Like a mother to many exiled children, Dr. Amathila saw the promise of Helena and mentored her. After completion of her high school education in Zambia and Gambia, with Auntie Lib's encouragement, Helena applied to and won an East German-sponsored scholarship to medical school at the University of Leipzig. To determine her future special- ization, Helena went to Auntie Lib for advice. Auntie Lib asked Helena to look down at her hands. "We have thousands of people in Namibia who are blinded by cataracts and have no one to help them to see again," Auntie Lib said. "Those small hands can make the difference in the lives of thousands of poor patients who students had been rounded up and imprisoned. As an active member of the student resistance, her arrest was imminent. At age 15, Helena had a painful conversation with her parents. She explained that she had only two choices. Leave her home and escape to Angola in hopes of becoming part of the independence movement or face certain imprison- ment. Her parents were saddened but supportive of her efforts. Helena left home with three other friends and headed north. Trav- eling without a passport, she walked and took public buses and eventu- ally sneaked past border guards to enter Angola on foot. A violent civil war was raging in Angola. Although she was no longer in danger of being arrested, travel was extremely hazardous and the conditions dan- gerous, especially for young women. Under the protection of the SWAPO Liberation movement, the majority of Namibian refugees were now being sheltered in a refugee camp in Zam- bia. With the help and protection of her SWAPO colleagues, traveling by "liberation" trucks and on foot, she was able to cross into Zambia. Helena discovered in her new home a welcoming community. Among the most important features of SWAPO was the desire to foster solidarity, unity, and equality. In the refugee settlements, women were placed in positions of power, and the health, education, and welfare of all citizens became prominent cornerstones of this new government in absentia. Children's education was seen as a top priority. Under the direction of adults, new school buildings were constructed by the students. Namibian teachers from "Helena's unwavering commitment to the poor and underserved is a constant inspiration to everyone who has had the honor of working with her. Her example helps remind us what a won- derful gift we have been given as eye surgeons and why we must share this precious gift with those most in need." —Michael Colvard, MD "[Dr. Ndume] is an inspiration to all ophthalmologists, and her success has inspired thousands of girls and women to dream big and to not let adversity steal their dreams." —Susan MacDonald, MD The ASCRS Foundation is proud to announce that Helena Ndume, MD, is the recipient of the 2023 ASCRS Foundation Chang-Crandall Human- itarian Award. The Chang-Crandall Humanitarian Award is endowed by a generous gift from David and Victoria Chang to celebrate and honor out- standing humanitarian work with an emphasis on cataract blindness and disability. H elena came into the world during a time of widespread political unrest. It was the early 1960s, and colonized nations across all of Africa were beginning their struggles for inde- pendence. She was born in northern Namibia and lived with her parents in a small house in a segregated area of her village designated for Black residents. While still in junior high school, Helena became actively involved in student protests against colonial oc- cupation, apartheid, and the racially determined educational inequities of her country. Hundreds of protesting Helena Ndume, MD, selected for 2023 Chang-Crandall Humanitarian Award Although her schedule is hectic, Dr. Ndume makes it a point to see her patients the mornings after surgery. Source: SEE International

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