Aboo Moossajee

Sadly, on June 24, T.E.S. Foundation lost one of its senior members, Mr Abobaker Moossajee, RN. Aboo was his name for his family, colleagues and numerous friends.

Born in Mauritius in 1937, Aboo left his home country at the age of 21 to attend School of Nursing in England. He moved to Switzerland in 1975 and lived in Lausanne where he performed as scrubnurse in ophthalmolgy working at the Jules Gonin Hospital with Prof Michel Gonvers and Prof André Mermoud, and at the Clinique Montchoisy. Aboo has 5 children living in Switzerland and Australia.

Aboo participated in the fisrt steps of T.E.S. Foundation with Alain Fong, RN, and was proud to be part of a team whose purpose was to help people from his home country. He participated in numerous missions at the Moka Eye Hospital in Mauritius, assisting Prof Cyrus Tabatabay, and teaching to ophthalmologic instrument nurses during surgery sessions. 

We shall always remember his kindness, the care he gave to those he knew and the brightness of his laugh.

During his one week stay in Mauritius, Dr Cyrus Tabatabay perfomed 30 complex vitreo-retinal surgeries and examined 135 patients. “Working and sharing expertise together with the Moka Hospital medical team is a very interesting and rewarding experience”, says Dr Tabatabay.

Dr C. Tabatabay performs retinal surgery assisted by Moka Hospital team.

2010 started with two missions at the Moka Eye Hospital.

The first mission was carried by Dr Cyrus Tabatabay, Dr Efstratios Mendrinos (HUG Geneva) and Aboo Moossajee. Dr Szilard Kiss, from Weill Cornell Medical School New York, joined them. A lot was done during these two weeks. Heavy retinal surgeries (vitrectomies) and corneal transplants were performed. Corneal grafts were donated by the Port Louis LIONS Club who helps the Moka Eye Hospital throughout the year.

For the last twelve months, T.E.S. Foundation has been working with the Port Louis LIONS Club on an important fund raising project. They hope to acquire an OCT - Optical Coherence Tomography, for the Moka Eye Hospital. This revolutionary new technology offers high-definition images of the different layers of the retina and the macula. This allows a better observation and thus, a better assessment of the treatment needed and its follow-up. Diabetes is widely spread in Mauritius and causes damages on the retina that, if not treated, can lead to blindness. The OCT would be of great help in the diagnosis, observation and treatment of retinal diseases due to diabetes.

From left to right: A. Moossajee, Dr H. Dawreeawoo, Dr F. Uteene , Dr C. Tabatabay, R. Dharma, Dr E. Mendrinos and Dr S. Kiss after a day in operating room.

Dr Moïra Bumbacher and Prof. André Roth carried the second mission in Mauritius during the two last weeks of January. Specialised in pediatric eye care, they examined numerous children and adults presenting severe strabismus problems and performed surgery for 24 of these patients.

During these two missions, T.E.S. Foundation donated instruments and material used for cataract, vitrectomy and strabismus surgery. This material, which is of great help to the Moka Eye Hospital, was acquired thanks to private and association donations. T.E.S. would like to express its gratitude to all those who, through their support, help the foundation accomplish its mission.

Operating theater nurses

Dr P. Padiachy from the Moka Eye Hospital and Dr E. Mendrinos from HUG Geneva

Patients entering the Moka Eye Hospital

On Tuesday, December 8, 2009, a special event was organised in favour of IRIS (International Ressouces for the Improvement of the Sight) and of the T.E.S. Foundation at the Palais de l’Athénée, in Geneva.

IRIS, partner of T.E.S. Foundation, was founded in 1996 by Michèle Claudel, President. Its mission is to contribute to the improvement of eye care services in developing countries in Asia, more particularly in Sri Lanka, Cambodia and Laos.

To celebrate this special evening, a piano recital was given by Julien Quentin, a French young musician who shares his time between Berlin, Geneva and New York, and who was awarded prices in the United States, Argentina and Italy . He played pieces from Robert Schubert, Félix Mendelssohn and Frédéric Chopin.

We wish to thank all those who showed their support by attending this special evening. We also would like to express our gratitude to all of you who contributed financially to help IRIS and T.E.S. accomplish their mission.

Your support makes the difference.