Dr Mario Angi, Associate Professor in Ophthalmology at the Department of Neuroscience, University of Padua, introduces us to CBM Italia Onlus, of which he has been President since 2002.
How do you operate?
We support projects in poor countries in the South of the world, where the health needs of the population are almost totally uncovered. We work with a central operating unit that plans the interventions, carried out in collaboration with local associations, under the supervision of CBM regional managers to guarantee sustainable projects with a sure impact on the population. A highlight of the intervention methodology is the training of local staff. Approximately half of the CBM ophthalmic personnel in service today (5,421 ophthalmologists and health workers) have been trained locally with special courses. Only 15 CBM ophthalmologists come from Western countries. This is because we believe that the wealth of a country comes from its people, giving them the opportunity to develop and become self-sufficient.
An example of projects in areas of greatest need?
If I think of Africa, Ethiopia is the country where we chose to intervene from the beginning because it is one of the regions in the world with the highest prevalence of blindness, and it is at the same time a beautiful country, rich in traditions and dear to the memory of Italians.
There are numerous CBM projects in Ethiopia. I will mention two. In Wolisso the eye department of St. Luke's Hospital offers ophthalmic care in a deprived area. This year, CBM Italy carried out the expansion of the eye department (founded in 2003), and a programme of mobile eye missions to also operate on people living in distant villages. The service reaches more beneficiaries every year: in 2011, 2,470 people were operated on; the following year, 3,158. In 2012, more than 16,000 visually impaired people were visited. Children, women and men who were given a better chance to study, work and develop.
A new challenge is the construction of a large kindergarten in the city of Nazareth, with the Franciscan Sisters of Our Lady, a partner with whom we have been working since 2001. The kindergarten will be named after St. Anthony, and will welcome normal children together with children with visual and physical disabilities. The children, thanks to specially trained teachers, will be able to learn the Amharic alphabet, the Braille alphabet and the knowledge necessary to be admitted to primary school. The kindergarten will be the gateway to social inclusion for the children from the refugee camp.
What does a cooperation experience offer you?
Today, my missions are short and intense: three, four weeks a year. Over the years, my role has gradually changed. I remember that - when I was a young researcher at Yale - this aphorism circulated goliardically 'Those who cannot (sub-understand: operate), teach; those who cannot teach, administer'. Today I... administer! Gone are the heroic years of self-practised surgery. Not because I don't have the opportunity or the need, quite the contrary. But as I have grown older (I turned 60), I have realised that there is a time for everything, that I can do more good today as an administrator than as a surgeon. I meet authorities, bishops, colleagues, ask for permits, funding, create relationships. I must say that the excitement and satisfaction do not diminish, on the contrary, they increase. Every time I return from a mission in Ethiopia or the Democratic Republic of Congo, there is always some new meaningful encounter. A beautiful African proverb says "Who is a rich man? He who has many friends'. The problems and difficulties one encounters working in poor countries are many, but each project to combat blindness carried out with CBM gives immense joy: the more commitment it asks of us, the more satisfaction it gives. I consider it a privilege to invest my energies in this cause.
What is your dream?
They are many... Involve other colleagues and together create a well-coordinated Italian ophthalmic cooperation in line with WHO guidelines, of which we can be proud. Help new generations of ophthalmologists, both in Italy and in poor countries. Identify and treat preventable visual defects in children. Create easy-to-use and inexpensive technologies to be made available for the fight against blindness.
To find out more visit www.cbmitalia.org
Dr. Carmelo Chines
Direttore responsabile
English 
Italian