The Rural Voice, 1987-12, Page 18In Burkina Faso, children of the blind plow a field for a blind woman. The field is being cultivated for a peanut crop.
AN EXTRAORDINARY
JOURNEY
Hank Koskamp, at least on short acquaintance, doesn't talk much about his work experiences abroad, but one
suspects his silence has a good deal to do with powers of practical observation. He's recently settled in Ontario again
after a dozen years as an agricultural extension worker in Africa, first with CUSO in Ghana, later with the Canadian
International Development Agency in Ghana, and most recently with the Christian Blind Mission International in
Burkina Faso. In April of this year, he returned with his Ghanaian wife, Rose, and their three children, to farm with his
brother, Ralph. The families have laying hens, cash crops, and a farrow to finish operation. The two brothers bought
the farm at R. R. 4, Ripley in 1983, but this will be Rose's first Canadian winter. In the following article, Hank describes
his experience with the Christian Blind Mission, an organization working with handicapped people in 80 countries.
When the rehabilitation of the
blind is mentioned, most people think
of braille, white canes, and seeing -eye
dogs. But this article is about rehabil-
itation on a different scale, not using
braille or canes but using unique
methods of food production.
In regions of West Africa, many
people are suffering from an eye
disease called onchoceriasis, which is
spread by the similium fly, an insect
similar to the Canadian black fly.
These flies bite farmers, both men and
women, as they work their fields in
the river and stream valleys. By the
age of 25 to 35, these people can be so
infected with microfilariae that their
eyesight is irreversibly destroyed.
Since 1975, the World Health
Organization has been aerial spraying
the major rivers to destroy the flies
that carry the microfilariae. By dis-
rupting the life cycle of the micro-
filariae, new cases of blindness caused
by onchocerciasis are minimal. But at
present there are villages in which up
to 10 per cent of the adult population
(25 years and over) is blind. These
people were infected during their
youth before control measures were
taken. As there is no cure for their
blindness, the only option is rehabil-
itation and the improvement of their
skills in crafts and farming. There are
no social programs or assistance for
these people, and they are restricted to
16 THE RURAL VOICE