Tops!

I agreed to help Sharon (optometrist at MGH) with eye exams at a “local” school in Siteki. She and Sikalela (our previous cataract case-finder turned chauffeur because funding ran out) drove to the school from Mbabane (about 2 hours), and I met them at the school. When she said the school was in Siteki (where I live), what she really meant was the address was Siteki. It was actually a good 40 minute drive into the countryside.

I could tell right away I was in a very poor area of Swaziland. The school was on a dry and dusty plot. I am not sure if they had electricity. The kids appeared much younger than their actual ages.

 

 

Holy Ghost Primary School

We examined the children, many of whom had failed the school screening (done by a Peace Corps volunteer in the community), but actually had very good vision. (Apparently some kids really want glasses, so sometimes they purposely fail the eye test. This often occurs in the U.S. as well!)

 

 

I had asked the administrator if I could hand out a top to each of the children we examined, as I didn’t have enough for the whole school. The tops were made by a woodcarver’s association in Oklahoma, and donated to Dean McGee. They are amazing works of art, and the kids love them here. The administrator agreed, and stated she didn’t think it would cause a problem.

 

 

 

Beautiful toy tops made by a woodcarver's group in Oklahoma. They donated over 500 tops to our group!

 

Well, of course good news travels fast. We were finishing up our final few exams, when a little boy came in and stated that he was worried he had bad vision and wanted to be tested. We all realized what was going on: he knew if he had an eye exam he would get a toy top. We were kind to him, and I played along. His vision was better than okay (20/15 in each eye), but in the end he got his top. Kids are smart little buggers!

At the end of the time, a CROWD had arrived at the door. It was clear that the tops had caused commotion after all!