Turkish charity helps girl at risk of losing eyesight

By Alaattin Dogru

DAKAR (AA) – A Turkish charity will provide a lifetime supply of medicines to a Nigerien girl suffering from a condition which puts her at a risk of losing eyesight.

The Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) decided to reach out to Rukiye Ramatou, 7, after her story was told by Anadolu Agency on Tuesday.

“When I read the news, I listened to my heart and said that we could provide medicine as IHH volunteers,” Osman Kaan Akgul, head of IHH in Istanbul's Bakirkoy district, told Anadolu Agency.

The girl suffers from glaucoma, an eye condition that damages the optic nerve and could result in blindness.

She was diagnosed at an eye camp by Turkish doctors in Niger where her mother Aicha Ramatou took her.

The doctors examined Rukiye Ramatou and her brother Halim Ramatou who had blue eyes, a rare occurrence in Africa.

The brother was cleared of any disease, but the doctors gave Rukiye Ramatou eye drops for six months, saying she will need life-long medicine to prevent blindness.

* Writing by Erdogan Cagatay Zontur