Field report by Tom Lewis  |  June 19–22, 2026  |  Serabu, Sierra Leone

Twenty years ago, a vision took root in the red soil of Sierra Leone. What began as a humble commitment to restore sight to those who had none has grown into something extraordinary — a clinic that has seen 36,427 patients, performed 12,378 surgeries, and dispensed 18,253 pairs of glasses to people who might otherwise have spent their lives in darkness.

This past week, the community of Serabu — along with dignitaries, healthcare leaders, and friends from across Sierra Leone — gathered to mark two full decades of that vision. What unfolded was not just a celebration. It was a homecoming.

The community of Serabu filled Dr. Cathy's Hall to capacity for the 20th Anniversary celebration on June 20, 2026.

The 20th Anniversary celebration drew dignitaries and community members from across the Southern Province to the beautifully decorated Dr. Cathy's Hall — the community gathering space that already bears the name of the woman whose life and service made all of this possible.

Members of the Southern Eye Clinic management team took the stage to walk the audience through twenty years of history — the humble beginnings, the growth, the patients who walked in unable to see and walked out with their lives restored. Charts and graphs told the story in numbers, but the faces in the room told it in something far more powerful.

Southern Eye Clinic Serabu's 20-year impact: 36,427 patients seen, 12,378 surgeries performed, and 18,253 glasses dispensed since 2006.

The keynote address was delivered by the Resident Minister of the Southern Province, whose words carried the weight of a government that has watched this clinic quietly transform the health landscape of an entire region. His presence — and the presence of so many community leaders — was a testament to the respect the Schanzer Eye Institute has earned over two decades.

The Resident Minister of the Southern Province delivers the keynote address at the 20th Anniversary celebration.

After the formal program, the celebration spilled into something joyful and deeply Sierra Leonean — food, music, and traditional dance. A costumed dancer drew a massive, delighted crowd outside Dr. Cathy's Hall, the energy electric and the laughter contagious.

Traditional music and dance brought the entire community together in celebration.

The team gathered around a long table to share a meal together — a simple, sacred moment of fellowship after a day of milestone-marking. It was the kind of moment that reminds everyone why they came.

The SEI team shares a meal together — fellowship at the close of an unforgettable day.

If the anniversary ceremony stirred hearts, the Bumpe Cup final lit the crowd on fire.

The village of Sahn faced off against the village of Walihun in a hard-fought match that refused to be decided in regulation. It went all the way to sudden death kicks — and when the dust settled, Walihun prevailed 3–2. The post-game celebration lasted well into the night.

Sport has a way of doing what diplomacy sometimes cannot — uniting communities across every difference. In Serabu that Saturday night, there was only joy.

Sunday morning began in worship. Mass included a special blessing for the staff of Southern Eye Clinic — a moment of spiritual recognition for the men and women who show up every day to serve patients who have no other options. It was a fitting way to begin a day that would close one chapter and open another.

That afternoon, Deputy Minister of Health Dr. Charles Senessie addressed an enthusiastic audience, speaking to the vital role Southern Eye Clinic has played — and continues to play — in the health of Sierra Leone. Dr. Senessie then took a tour of the clinic's technology, and his reaction said everything: he was genuinely impressed.

Then came the moment no one in the room will forget.

Tom Lewis and Dr. Senessie stepped forward together. And before the gathered crowd — staff, community members, government officials, and friends — they announced that Southern Eye Clinic Serabu would now be known as Schanzer Eye Clinic.

Tom Lewis with a local church leader at Southern Eye Clinic Serabu — a partnership of faith and healing that has defined this mission from the beginning.

She came to Sierra Leone not for recognition, but because people needed care and she had the skill to give it.

Dr. Cathy Schanzer built something here that outlasted her time on earth — a culture of compassion, a standard of excellence, and a community that loved her fiercely in return. The banners bearing her face that lined Dr. Cathy's Hall this weekend were not decoration. They were a declaration: this is who we are because of who she was.

Naming the clinic Schanzer Eye Clinic is not simply an honor. It is a promise — that the vision she carried across an ocean will continue to guide every surgery, every examination, every pair of glasses placed in hands that needed them.

Dr. Cathy Schanzer — the heart and founder behind twenty years of restored sight in Sierra Leone.

Thirty-six thousand patients. Twelve thousand surgeries. Eighteen thousand pairs of glasses. One renamed clinic. And an entire community that showed up — joyfully, gratefully, exuberantly — to say thank you.

This is what two decades of faithful service looks like. If you would like to be part of what the next twenty years will bring, we invite you to give today. Every gift goes directly toward free eye care for patients in Sierra Leone who have no other hope of seeing clearly.

Tell Papa God Tenki. (Thank God.)

Field updates provided by Tom Lewis, currently on mission in Sierra Leone. Photos courtesy of the Schanzer Eye Clinic mission team.