Duke GO team members are dedicated to curing blindness worldwide, alleviating human suffering, and transforming not only individual lives, but their families and entire communities.
The Bandages are Removed
In this video, this woman's sight is restored after cataract surgery. During trips to South Sudan, as many as 1,000 surgeries are performed by Duke GO surgeons and surgeons from partner organizations.
The First Corneal Transplant in Sierra Leone
Balu Sesay, on the right, in 2021. The first corneal transplant performed in Sierra Leone. The surgery allowed Balu to see her five children for the very first time. One of her daughter's is to her left. Photo credit: Chris Hildreth/Rooster Media.
Chance Meeting in Indonesia Cures Dual Blindness
Novie Marburn from Yogyakarta, Indonesia was blind in both eyes for 10 years. She was not able to see her children ages 2, 4, and 7 years old, making it very difficult to care for them. Novi wondered if she would ever be able to see the beautiful faces of her children. Indonesia lacks cornea transplant surgeons and eye banking for Novie to get the cornea transplant needed to regain her vision. During a sight saving trip in February 2024, Lloyd Williams, MD, PhD, met Novie‘s husband Rio, completely by chance. Rio was working as a translator and happened to ask Willams if he could help his wife. Williams evaluated Novie and realized she was blind in both eyes, but her vision could be restored with corneal transplants in each eye. Novie was getting the sight saving surgery that she needed. Today, Novie now has almost normal vision. She can see her children and care for them with no assistance. This is just one example of thousands, demonstrating the impact of Duke GO.