The loss of sight in West Africa is to some degree the loss of life. Local tradition says that the blind are cursed. They are marginalized and ignored by fellow villagers. Blindness divides families, breaks up marriages and dooms a single person's chances of finding a spouse.
The principal cause of blindness among West Africans is a disease called onchorcerciases, more commonly known as river blindness. The illness is transmitted by the black fly, which lives near water and swarm in the river basins of the region. Residents of the Niger River valley are particularly susceptible to the scourge of the black fly. The World Health Organization has led chemical disinfection campaigns against the black fly, which have been particularly effective in drier areas with less vegetation. But in more heavily forested areas, the flies are easily hidden in the bush. New infestations have been located in forested parts of Ghana, the Ivory Coast and Nigeria, and some predict that the fly's range will soon cover additional countries, including Burkina Faso, Mali, Liberia and Guinea. An initiative by the Ivorian Protestant Church led to the training of instructors to bring assistance to the blind in the Ivory Coast. Institutions were established for the blind, so that they could be educated and learn Braille. But the financial burden soon became too great, and places in such institutions were limited to children. In rural areas, the church pushed for local action, asking communities to donate small parcels of land on which the blind would collectively live. In some places, this resulted in the formation of cooperatives and the hope of some semblance of normal life. In Africa, good health means survival and life. Handicapped people are seen not only as a burden but also as a curse. The cooperatives are a safe haven for the blind, a place where they can learn to overcome their handicap by acquiring a measure of independence. They learn to perform daily tasks — working the fields, feeding farm animals, reading — and in doing so regain self-confidence and self-esteem. Over a period of three years, photographer Gaël Turine traveled throughout West Africa, capturing images of blind men and women in their cooperatives, images that none of them will ever be able to see. Photographs by Gaël Turine Go to Photo Essay Photo Essays Home TIME Europe Home |