While the breathtaking view of infinite grassland of Inner Mongolia captivates visitors from Hong Kong and all over the world, many of our fellow countrymen are in need of our help to light up their vision.

Ha Shi, a 77-year-old woman from Xilinhot, began to lose her eyesight three years ago. She had no idea of what "cataract" was. Ha continued to stumble around her home, until her family took her for a check-up at the Xilinhot People's Hospital in August.

"When we heard a group of Hong Kong doctors were setting up an eye surgery centre at the hospital, we signed her up on the spot," Ha's daughter said. "It costs about RMB 800 and we trust the expertise of Hong Kong doctors," she added.

On September 21, Ha underwent a successful cataract surgery on her left eye at the first Xinlinhot Project Vision Charity Eye Centre.

"I'm very happy I can see the world again," Ha said coming out of the surgery room. Her family also was happy at the prospect of her restoring vision. "I couldn't function properly at home and that made life very inconvenient. I'm looking forward to the operation on my right eye very soon," said an elated Ha.

Sustainable development

The changes in Ha's life can occur to many other Chinese thanks to Project Vision, a medical relief project, founded by a group of Hong Kong medical professionals, that aims to set up 100 charity eye units on the mainland by 2011.

With an initial donation of equipment and intensive training for local doctors and nurses, Project Vision aims to provide large-scale quality but affordable eye surgeries for the poor and the needy.

The project's objective is to "teach people how to fish", said Dennis Lam, Chairman of Project Vision and Chairman of Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK).

"We're working closely with Shantou International Eye Centre in training local medical professionals," Lam said. "They will be able to perform cataract surgeries without external help and provide training for others in due course."

Under the scheme, patients are expected to pay up to RMB 1,000 for the operation, less than one-third of the original cost, while disabled or widowed patients will get the service free.

As each unit can perform 1,000 surgeries per year, the 100 Project Vision Charity Eye Centres are expected to carry out 100,000 surgeries annually when the scheme is in full swing.

To ensure that the program is financially viable and sustainable for local hospitals, there will also be training in modern management and regular auditing of the hospitals' accounts by Hong Kong professionals.

Such skill transfer is one of the best things about the scheme and this is how Hong Kong people can contribute to their motherland, said Chow Pak Chin, ophthalmologist and vice-chairman of Project Vision.

"Cataract blindness is a serious challenge on the mainland as there are over 1 million new cases every year," said Chow. "I'm really happy to make my share of efforts and to see project develop across the country," said Chow.

Closer contact

After the Project Vision eye unit in Xinlinhot was officially inaugurated on September 22, Lam and his colleagues visited other mainland cities, including Yunnan and Sichuan, in the hope of opening four more units within this year.

"Our selection is primarily based on the population and level of poverty in the provinces, as we aim to extend our help to the poor in rural areas," said Zhang Ming-zhi, Director of Shantou Office of Project Vision.

The development of charity project will also facilitate closer interaction between mainland medical professionals, as they can communicate with one another through tele-medicine facilities at the Project Vision eye centres.

"They can watch lectures being held in Shantou via the Internet," said Chow. "They can even seek help from other ophthalmologists when they encounter any problem during the operation."

"As each eye unit costs about HK$850,000 to set up, we hope to raise about RMB 100 million all over mainland," Lam added. "We've raised RMB 15 million so far and we still have a long way to go."

While Project Vision has just begun, Lam said many Hong Kong professionals and mainland officials have shown tremendous support and the project should expand to provide help to other ophthalmological problems in the future.

The promise of light is already drawing Hong Kong people and their mainland peers closer together. When the gauze on an eye of Zou Rengrong was removed on Sunday, she was excited to see the Hong Kong doctors who had come to Xinlinhot to help her.

"I thanked them with all my heart for bringing hope to our grassland," said the 62-year-old woman on wheelchair. "I hope to see Hong Kong for myself one day, and to see more exchanges between Hong Kong and my hometown," she said.

(HK Edition 09/25/2007 page6)