Cataract scare opened Burnaby woman's eyes to world
Burnaby woman, 28, realized how lucky she was to have access to good treatment
By Elaine O'Connor, The Province January 21, 2010
After a series of medical treatments, Burnaby's Karin DuBois was shocked to be diagnosed with cataracts.
She was only in her 20s.
Thankfully, doctors assured her that the risk of losing her sight was small.
"They told me it's such a simple surgery and that the chances of success are so high that it's not even a concern — the chances of me going blind are very slim," the 28-year-old recalled.
That's far from the case for millions in the developing world.
Ninety per cent of the world's 45 million blind live in impoverished countries; two-thirds are female.
Most of these cases are preventable. The most common cause of blindness is cataracts, which could be removed with a simple 15-minute, $50 surgery. But women and girls are only half as likely as men to get treated.
That's one of the surprising statistics DuBois learned while creating an awareness video recently for SEVA Canada.
The Vancouver-based registered charity funds eye-care clinics and trains doctors to perform cataract surgeries in seven developing countries: Tanzania, India, Guatemala, Cambodia, Nepal and Tibet.
DuBois' video earned her second place in SEVA's national Her Sight Is Worth It video contest. The winners were announced Wednesday.
The B.C. Institute of Technology grad and Global B.C. assistant director said she wanted to create the video as a way of giving back.
"I'm lucky enough to live in Canada, where medical access is available. If I was in India or elsewhere, my chances of being permanently blind would be so much greater," she said.
First-place winner Derick Groves of Victoria admitted he had little knowledge of the issue before entering the contest.
"It's one of the things you don't really think about," said the 33-year-old film-school grad.
"It is a little surprising to see the percentage of women that make up the total number of blind and how little care they get."
Third place went to Ontario-native Rhonda Kara Hanah, who temporarily lost sight in one eye after contracting an infection in Mexico.
SEVA launched the contest last fall, calling on Canadians 13 and older to submit three-minute movies about blindness in women and girls in the developing world.
The contest, sponsored by GAP Adventures and the Planterra Foundation, came with a unique reward: The group is restoring the sight of one woman and girl in the names of each of the three winners.
Penny Lyons, SEVA Canada's executive director, said the entries served to highlight the "direct link between poverty and blindness."
"As soon as you restore someone's sight," Lyons explained, "they can go to school or work, so by treating blindness in women, you are reducing poverty effectively and inexpensively, especially as it's been very clearly documented that women are the key to sustainability in their families, communities and nations."
The films, online at www.seva.ca/contest.htm, will be screened in 12 Canadian cities as part of the World Community Film Festival, which comes to Vancouver on Jan. 31.
eoconnor@theprovince.com © Copyright (c) The Province
