the clinic

through the middle of the village you pass a sign on which the 'anglican eye clinic' explains its services, up to the highest point of the hilltop, another honk, this time drawn out and impatient, the gate is opened from the inside, we drive into an inner courtyard, the gate is closed behind us and we have arrived in the quiet of a former convent.

prof. manfred spitznas is emeritus professor of ophthalmology from bonn, germany. he got around a lot in his career, originally trained in essen under prof. meyer-schwickerath (the german laser pioneer in ophthalmology), in the 1970s for many years in california at UCLA for the wasserman endowed professorship at the jules stein institute, then back in germany until 2003 professor in bonn. he is now 80 years old, but has more energy than some young adults. so far we only knew each other by phone. he comes outside through a double door and greets me warmly. he leads me inside through a reception area and another double door into a living and kitchen area. there I meet sister aba.

sister aba is the last nun at the jachie convention of the 'anglican order of the holy paraclete'. the eye clinic was originally founded and built in 2002 by an english ophthalmologist, mr. rowland cowley (1924 - 2017). for several years, the further development of the eye clinic in jachie has been supported by the volta eye clinic campaign under the direction of prof. spitznas. sister aba has an education as an 'ophthalmic nurse'. she also greets me warmly, tea, coffee and water are waiting on the table, and she quickly pulls everything out of a cupboard that’s inside. the table overflows with crackers, bread, butter, cheese, jam, and fresh fruit. the mangoes taste delicious. 

we talk: 'ah, so it is your first time in africa? ... don't worry, we are only going to cut your head off!' - 'no worries, just make sure to return it to my family.' the ice is broken and we are talking about this and that.