During the rainy season in the Congo, tragedies caused by lightning strikes are extremely frequent. I was faced with such a case this week, when a grandfather brought his grandson to the Mbuji-Mayi ophthalmic surgery.

Here is the brief story:

He was sitting out the storm with his mother and an aunt in their thatched cottage. Struck by lightning, he alone survived. This is a very common type of accident around here with several deaths annually in some villages! He survived, but suffered burn wounds and developed bilateral cataracts.

The scars on his face are the results of burns caused by lightning.

He has a larger wound on his abdomen, which has healed well, leaving keloid scarring.
His grandfather took him in since he was orphaned (I don’t know where his father is). He brought the child to us, and we began to treat him for free.

His surgery was successful, and I am waiting for the moment when we can take a smiling photo of him, as he looks pretty glum on the ones we have so far.
We are preparing for a 2-3 week mission to Lusambo. Today's departure had to be called off due to the heavy rains. Maybe the weather will be kinder to us tomorrow and we can set off.
Brother Richard