The eye surgeon stayed long enough to complete about 10 procedures, leaving those lucky patients and their families overjoyed. But many more who were in need of cataract surgery or other advanced eye care could only curse their fate and wait patiently for the next visit.

But the wait came to an end last year for several dozen people who finally received cataract surgery. Hundreds of others received much-needed eyeglasses. Still more people benefited from new eye-related equipment and supplies and HIV/AIDS testing equipment donated to the hospital.

The upgrade in eye care was thanks to an LCIF grant and a cooperative effort between Lions clubs in North Carolina and Meru, Kenya. LCIF provided a US$19,250 international assistance grants to finance a Lions eye mission to Kenya in 2002.

The 16-person team that traveled to Kenya was headed by Dr. Richard Griffin, a member of the Hickory Lions Club and an ophthalmologist. Also making the trip was Dr. Deysy Klein, an anesthesiologist and a member of the Huntersville Lions Club, four nurses and a surgical technician. Members of the First United Methodist Church of Hickory also were part of the team.

Griffin and the medical team treated 300 patients. Fifty patients received eye surgery. The team also delivered 1,500 pairs of eyeglasses, an ophthalmic exam chair, a machine for electrolyte and hemoglobin analysis, sterile surgeons' gowns and gloves, burn unit supplies and other equipment and supplies. The team even found time to construct coverings over the walkways connecting the units of the hospitals, sparing patients and staff from getting drenched during rainy season.

The Hickory Lions Club contributed US$21,100 to the project to pay for the costs of airfare, food and lodging. For their part, members of the Meru Lions Club coordinated all the local logistics such as pre-screening of patients, local transportation of supplies, publicity and arranging for interpreters.

The medical team made a two-day side trip to Garba Tula, a remote, impoverished Muslim village. The team treated patients, performed surgeries and arranged for other patients to visit Maua.

The entire visit to Maua by the U.S. contingent was much appreciated. The Kenyans were impressed by the willingness of strangers from another nation to help. A staff member at Maua Methodist Hospital told Griffin, "Your presence here is the real gift. Anything you do while here is the ribbon on top of the gift."

Griffin, who made his first mission to Maua seven years ago, agrees that kindness to strangers produces something else beside the immediate aid rendered. "We may never fully realize the effect of the footprints we left in Maua, Meru and Garba Tula," he said. "What we really did, though, was plant seeds and start ripples in the stream."