Funds raised by an optometrist who walked the length of Aotearoa New Zealand have enabled the opening of a new eye clinic in a remote area of Tanzania.
Niall McCormack, who practises optometry in Hawke’s Bay, on the east coast of New Zealand’s North Island, said the purpose-built Shinyanga Eye Clinic had been a dream of his for many years, having visited several orphanages in East Africa.
To get the project underway, he formed the registered charity Eye Care For Africa in 2017.
“In 2021, I had the idea of walking Te Araroa (a recognised walk from Cape Reinga, the most northern tip of the North Island) to Bluff (the southern tip of the South Island) to raise funds for the project,” Mr McCormack told mivision.
Setting out on his own, without a support team, Mr McCormack camped and stayed in hikers’ camps, meeting numerous people walking the trail. Along the 3,004 km trail, he fell down a ravine and was chased by a pack of bulls, however managed “to get to Bluff relatively unscathed” on day 134, just over four months after starting.
Mr McCormack’s walk raised over NZ$19,000, which contributed to the clinic build and fitout, and Rotary has stepped in to assist future efforts by applying for a global grant.
Recently, a team of 12, including Mr McCormack, his colleague Lillian Lei from Specsavers Whanganui, and Hawke’s Bay GP, Dr Peter Culham, travelled to Tanzania for the clinic’s opening.
Mr McCormack said 60 locals spent the night outside the clinic waiting to be seen as soon as it officially opened, and a further 190 people attended on the first day.
“Seeing the physical building completed was an amazing experience. So much blood, sweat, and blisters had gone into the funding drive, including the wonderful experience of walking Te Araroa,” Mr McCormack said.
His hope is that the centre will continue to be viable, offering eye care services to locals and providing training to “make eye care sustainable in the area for years to come”.
To that end, plans are already underway to return to Tanzania later this year to train selected local people in the basic skills of refraction.
Donations to the project can be made at: givealittle. co.nz/cause/eye-care-for-africa-te-araroa.