Barcelona-based Anzu Fati offers free open surgery to hundreds of Guineans across the country, treated by a team of ten doctors he sent from Catalonia to Pisa.
Since last Monday, the Casa Emanuel orphanage on the outskirts of Guinea’s capital has been a sought-after destination for people of all ages seeking cataract surgery.
The Spanish medical team – doctors and nurses – have their hands full. The goal is to operate on at least 500 people before returning to Catalonia.
The Casa Emanuel Orphanage, run by missionaries from Costa Rica, was renovated to include a modern operating room set up by Spanish doctors, paid for by the Ansu Fati Foundation.
The surgeries are carried out using lasers and the patients pay nothing, which Ansu Fati’s uncle and coordinator of the initiative, Lusa Campum Mane, sees as “Ansu’s revenge for everything he has achieved in football”.
“To give you an idea, in Spain each operation of this nature costs three thousand euros. Here in Guinea, with the help of the Ansu Fathi Foundation, we have it for free,” observed Kampham Mane, his cousin. Father of Barcelona player.
In 2023, the Ansu Fati Foundation took the same initiative east of Guinea-Bissau, paying for cataract surgery for 300 people during that time.
In the future, the Pisa-born player plans to develop projects in the fields of education and social infrastructure, Campum Mane said.
“Through his foundation, his aim is to share what he earns in football with the children of Guinea,” said the player’s uncle.
The Casa Emanuel Orphanage is usually frequented by pregnant women, but in recent days it has seen an unusual influx of adults, especially the visually impaired.
Joachim Eenes is a 65-year-old former teacher and now a soldier, but practically stopped seeing well ten years ago, with cataracts in both eyes.
On Tuesday, Inez underwent surgery on his right eye before the medical team returned to Spain to remove the cataract in his left eye, which he hopes will resolve his vision problem.
Joachim Inez thanked Anzu Fati, wishing him “all the best in his football career”.
Mama, Kampum Mane, promises to convey the message of “great satisfaction” that “many Guineans have seen the problem resolved” thanks to the Ansu Fathi Foundation.
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