LEWISTON – Lewiston ophthalmologist Ken Wolfe recently hosted an Ethiopian ophthalmologist as part of ORBIS, a charity dedicated to improving eye care in developing countries.

Dr. Tesfaye HaileSelassie shadowed Wolfe at his clinic and in the operating room. HaileSelassie was identified by ORBIS as a promising young ophthalmologist in 1996 when the project’s long-term work began in Ethiopia.

ORBIS’s mission includes its Flying Eye Hospital, which delivers care around the world. Working through the program, skilled volunteer medical staff train local medical professionals, who have gone on to share their skills and give 17.5 million people back their sight.

Wolfe has been volunteering his time and skills to the program since 1996.

After participating in numerous ORBIS skill-enhancing programs, HaileSelassie was hired by ORBIS to run its rural outreach projects in southern Ethiopia. Last winter, he signed aboard the ORBIS DC-10 Flying Eye Hospital and gained entry into the international ophthalmology arena – a very rare opportunity for a young Ethiopian eye surgeon.

When HaileSelassie leaves the flying hospital, he will return to practice in Ethiopia, a country struggling to curb the high incidence of avoidable blindness. The World Health Organization recommends an ophthalmologist for every 250 people in Africa. In rural Ethiopia there is only one ophthalmologist for every 4 million people.