Announcing....

the newest addition to our family


....MAMUSH!


Kenneth and I decided to accept the referral today thanks to finally getting some information about his eye problem from Dr. Paul Mikus who is with our agency and picking up a child in Ethiopia as we speak. Mamush has River Blindness. So, what is River Blindness? River blindness (onchocerciasis) is caused by a worm that breeds in fast-flowing rivers. It is transmitted to people through the bite of a black fly. The worms spread throughout the body, and when they die, they cause intense itching and a strong immune system response that can destroy nearby tissue, such as the eye.It is a major cause of blindness in west and central Africa.

The facts about river blindness:

1. around 18 million people are infected, of whom roughly 300,000 are irreversibly blind
2. 99 per cent of those with river blindness live in Africa
3. a further 125 million people are currently at risk from infection

Mamush does suffer from blindness in one eye...