Joining Know the Glow in January 2025 was an exciting step toward expanding childhood blindness awareness across Africa. My transition coincided with unforeseen challenges, including the devastating Los Angeles fires, which temporarily disrupted my colleagues’ normal operations. Despite these circumstances, the team remained supportive, offering guidance whenever possible. While adapting to my new role, I took the initiative to build new connections and follow up on existing ones, ensuring continued progress in expanding awareness efforts across Africa
In the past few weeks, I have worked to strengthen Know the Glow’s presence by establishing key connections across multiple countries. In Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria,Tanzania, Ethiopia, Zambia, Somalia and South Africa, I have engaged with medical professionals, non-profit organizations, and families whose journeys with childhood eye conditions highlight the critical need for early detection and intervention. Some partnerships are still in progress, while others have already led to impactful storytelling collaborations, showcasing real-life experiences that bring greater awareness to the glow.
Each of these efforts represents a step toward ensuring that more families, healthcare professionals, and advocacy groups are equipped with the knowledge and resources needed to detect childhood eye conditions early. Moving forward, I remain focused on expanding these collaborations, amplifying awareness efforts, and driving meaningful change in communities where access to early diagnosis remains a challenge.
