They came from the remotest parts of Indonesia, taking crowded
overnight ferries and riding for hours in cars or buses - all in
the hope that a simple, and free, surgical procedure would
restore their eyesight. Many patients were elderly and needed
help to reach two hospitals in Sumatra where mass eye camps were
held earlier this month by Nepalese surgeon Dr. Sanduk Ruit.
During eight days, more than 1,400 cataracts were removed. The
patients camped out, sleeping side-by-side on military cots,
eating donated food while fire trucks supplied water for showers
and toilets. Many who had given up hope of seeing again left
smiling after their bandages were removed. "I've been blind for
three years, and it's really bad," said Arlita Tobing, 65, whose
sight was restored after the surgery. "I worked on someone's
farm, but I couldn't work anymore." Indonesia has one of the
highest rates of blindness in the world, making it a target
country for Ruit who travels throughout the developing world
holding free mass eye camps