Naneo's story: Every child should bring home an A

Through support like yours, CBM distributed 350,884 sight-saving vitamin A capsules in just one year.

Naneo with a Vitamin A capsule.
Photo: CBM

Five year old Naneo is one of 229 children attending primary school in a village near Kajiado, southeast of Nairobi. Here's field workers from CBM's partner AIC (Africa Inland Church) screen the children's eyes, teach good hygiene and provide sanitary latrines to help stop the spread of trachoma, a leading cause of blindness in the region.

Ongoing work is vitally important

Although Naneo's eyes are healthy, AIC field workers have distributed vitamin A to prevent dry eyes and poor night vision which are among the first signs that a child could fall victim to preventable blindness.

Naneo is happy to take the pills, saying "The pill looks so nice and keeps my eyes healthy". Naneo's mother Esther adds, "we learned a lot from the field worker about how to prevent eye disease, even to prevent trachoma which is very common here."

"The pill looks so nice and keeps my eyes healthy" - Naneo

Trachoma, caused by a bacteria, can be spread by eye-seeking flies, poor sanitation and dirty hands. In Naneo's school, field workers have already identified and provided treatment for five children with the early symptons of trachoma, so our ongoing work is vitally important.

Further Reading

 Vitamin A deficiency - Read more about the importance of Vitamin A in the developed world

 Trachoma - Read more about Trachoma

 Give Vitamins for Sight

 Vision 2020 - Read more about the global Vision 2020 initiative; of which CBM are founding members.