Eyeworld

SPRING 2025 | EYEWORLD | 53 Contact info@ascrsfoundation.org when she came back to Barcelona in 2002. She was able to bring interesting insights from train- ing and learning in other countries that could help show different ways to do things. Dr. Barraquer was previously involved with humanitarian work with the Barraquer Founda- tion, which was started in 2003 by her father. In 2004, Dr. Barraquer did her first trip to Africa through the Barraquer Foundation, travel- ing to Senegal, where she saw the great need. For 13 years, Dr. Barraquer was the executive director of the Barraquer Foundation. When her father died at the end of 2016, she took over the patronage of the Barraquer Foundation. It was also decided at that time that the foundation would focus more on work in Spain and the backlog of procedures in the country. "I knew that our needs in Africa are a thou- sand times more," Dr. Barraquer said. For exam- ple, in countries like Mozambique, there are 20 million people and only 20 ophthalmologists, so there's no way to address this problem. "Not only don't they have the technology or the eco- nomic resources, but they don't have the human resources," she said. "I decided then to start [a new foundation]—the Elena Barraquer Foun- dation—to exclusively do trips to developing or underdeveloped countries to help wherever they need us." The first trip for the Elena Barraquer Foundation was to Kenya in 2017. "We went to Kenya, hand in hand with another NGO from Barcelona with whom we had traveled to Kenya six times before with the Barraquer Founda- tion," she said. When the Elena Barraquer Foundation started in 2017, Dr. Barraquer said it comprised of only herself, Teté Ferreiro, executive director, and a scrub nurse. This expanded, and there are now 10 people in Barcelona who work every day preparing the campaigns and outreach. Dr. Barraquer continues to work with the Elena Barraquer Foundation and with the Barraquer Institute. Last year, the Elena Barraquer Foun- dation completed 18 humanitarian trips, with cataract surgery as the main focus. During her trips, Dr. Barraquer said there have been many memorable experiences. One was a trip to Kenya in the Samburu region in the north of the country. The Samburus are a nomad tribe, so they move around, and they walk everywhere. She treated a 33-year-old Samburu man. "He came with a typical warrior dress, and he was very drunk. He was blind in both eyes. He had such an incredible cataract that he only saw light perception with both eyes," she said. "I did one eye. One of them was actually subluxated, so I had to do an intracap- sular." The following day, he came to have the patch removed, and Dr. Barraquer did surgery on the other eye. When he returned the day after to have the second eye patch off, he could see with the first eye that was operated on. "He said to me, 'Thank you. Now I'm going to be able to find a job.' It was incredible." Another particularly memorable experience of Dr. Barraquer's was an 18-year-old wom- an who had lost one eye because of a retinal detachment and had a white cataract in the other eye. "That was in Angola, and they speak Portuguese, which is similar to Spanish. I did the surgery on the eye with a white cataract, with local anesthesia, and at the end, I said, 'We are done. Can you see my hand?' She said, 'Yes, I can see your hand.' I said, 'How many fingers are here?' Before she answered her face went into a huge smile, and she said, 'Two.' She had an 18-month-old baby, and she said, 'Now I'm going to be able to see his face.'" It's these memories and cases that keep you coming back, Dr. Barraquer said. "Please join me in honoring Dr. Barraquer, a woman who is a brilliant surgeon, a remarkable humanitarian, and a spectacular role model," said Susan MacDonald, MD, ASCRS Foundation Chair. "[With] her unwavering focus on deliver- ing quality eyecare to underserved communities through her compassion and expertise, she inspires all of us to join the mission of reducing needless blindness." "It is a privilege to recognize Elena Barra- quer as this year's recipient of the Chang-Cran- dall Humanitarian Award," said Lisa Park, MD, chair of the award's Nominating Committee. "The Committee was impressed with the years she dedicated to training and research in the U.S. and humanitarian efforts around the world from an early age. I would like to highlight that Elena was one of the few women in this illustri- ous group for this award and received the top number of votes from the Committee by a large margin. It is my great pleasure to acknowledge and recognize this physician whose work has gone beyond the call of duty and embodies the true spirit of this award." continued from page 50

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