Recipient: Project de Lutte Contre Les Handicaps Visuels
Shipment Number: 5047
Shipment Date: 8/7/2006
Value: $348,701

The Blindness Prevention Projects of Boma (PROLHAVIC) and the Boma Eye Clinics were created in 1999 by Dr. Joseph Konde, a U.S. board certified Congolese national who completed his medical training at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and received his Doctorate of Ophthalmology from the University of Zimbabwe. Their initial sole function was to only provide eye care. After three years of operation, Dr. Konde realized that it was impossible to provide good health to the people of the area people by focusing only on eye conditions. Therefore, in 2003 the organization made a decision to provide general medical and surgical services in addition to its ophthalmic services. Of the 12,000 patients seen in their clinics last year, roughly 7,000 were ophthalmic patients; the rest were general medical and surgical patients, including pediatrics and OB/GYN.

In response to PROLHAVIC's increased range of operations, this Direct Relief donation consisted of a dental chair and dental equipment, OB/GYN surgical instruments, crutches, analgesics and antibiotics as well as eye shields, eye patches, and eyeglasses.