See yourself in Kenya: Highlights from studying abroad in tropical highland villages

Left to right: Xavier Fahey-Dumas, SAIT student; community health promoter from Kisii Eye Hospital; community health promoter from Kisii Eye Hospital; Terdoo Azenda, SAIT student; Alexina, a Kisii County local; SAIT instructor Fiaz Merani and Douglas, the team’s translation and liaison.

School of Business students flew to Kisii, Kenya to help connect crucial eye care with locals in need

Two SAIT School of Business students travelled across the world on an adventure that would take them from the Kenyan capital Nairobi to small village communities, lush green gardens and local homes in Kisii County — and all for a good cause.

Operation Eyesight Universal is a non-governmental organization based in Calgary. Their mission is to prevent avoidable vision lost and restore sight by expanding eye health service access to remote communities. Their programs are designed to provide quality care to all, regardless of age, gender or ability to pay. To support their mission, SAIT School of Business students conduct research and assessments on Operation Eyesight Universal partner operations and make recommendations to make them more successful.

This time (more on that later!), that partner was the Kisii Eye Hospital’s Innovative Eye Centre, located in Kisii, Kenya.

Hitting the ground running

Bachelor of Business Administration students Terdoo Azenda (Marketing major) and Xavier Fahey-Dumas (Accounting major) arrived in Nairobi travel-worn but excited as they caught glimpses of the city through the dark taxi window.

After over a full day of travelling — taking a plane from Calgary to Frankfurt, then another from Frankfurt to Nairobi — getting sleep that night was essential. There wouldn’t be much downtime ahead for the SAIT students on this whirlwind study abroad adventure.

To prepare for their journey, Terdoo and Xavier had spent several weeks in a SAIT classroom learning about Operation Eyesight Universal, the Kisii Eye Hospital, its Innovative Eye Centre operation and the people and culture of Kenya. Now, the only thing standing between them and starting their project was a six-hour car ride to reach Kisii, their base of operations for the remainder of the trip.

There, they finally had a moment to pause and take in their new surroundings.

Terdoo remembers: “I went to the top floor of the guest house and saw this breathtaking view. We were surrounded by hills, and you could see other villages on the slope. The area was surrounded by trees. It was very green, very lush, very beautiful. I was overwhelmed with emotion that this was my new reality.”

Terdoo (front) and Xavier (back) working in the executive lounge of their hotel, with the natural beauty of Kisii visible around them.

Xavier, meanwhile, laughs that he found grasshoppers the size of his hand on his window, which he picked off and escorted out of his room.

While some travellers might have seen a hotel as little more than a place to lay their weary head, Terdoo saw an opportunity to expand her perspective.

“I really love meeting people of different cultures, so I became familiar with some of the hotel operations team who worked there. I also met travellers from Kenya and beyond. At one point, a group of doctors from Europe came. Talking to people really feeds me, so hearing about their worlds was fun and eye-opening for me.”

20/20 insight into the eye hospital’s clients

But Terdoo and Xavier didn’t spend much time at the hotel — their project work brought them directly into communities.

While the Kisii Eye Hospital provides services to the people of Kisii City, the Innovative Eye Centre is one of Operation Eyesight Universal’s many partners established to provide affordable, high-quality optometric services to the rural population of Kisii County.

The Kisii Eye Hospital Innovation Eye Centre in Kisii, Kenya.

Terdoo and Xavier used their classroom knowledge and respective areas of study to make recommendations to help these outreach serves. They reviewed the hospital’s and the Innovative Eye Centre’s intricate operations, narrowed down opportunities for greater reach and went out into Kisii County communities to hear from people who had used or needed to use the hospital services and better understand their obstacles and challenges.

For Xavier, those busy, early days in Kisii were the highlight of the trip, especially meeting the staff and eye centre clients. “It gave me first-hand experience with aspects of life in Kenya and the chance to meet so many amazing people.”

The SAIT team speaking with Kisii Eye Hospital community health promoters.

“[They] were incredibly kind and supportive of our work,” Xavier adds. “The clinic staff were inspirational in their commitment to helping their communities in whatever way they could, and the villagers were very hospitable, some even inviting us into their homes to share their stories.”

Moving forward, Terdoo and Xavier would spend multiple days travelling with outreach professionals into villages. With their notepads ready, they talked to villagers who had received care or were hesitant about the eye services. It helped them learn more and identify barriers and opportunities for the outreach services, the Innovative Eye Centre and the hospital.

Access came up as a key theme.

“When the hospital first opened,” Xavier explains, “they found a lot of people were unable or unwilling to commute for services, so the Innovative Eye Centre runs vision centres in neighboring towns to make access to services much easier. We came to really understand that, if people don’t know about the outreach clinics, they might believe the only way to get vision care is to bike all the way to Kisii City and lose two days’ income taking the trip.”

Since much of their work involved face-to-face conversations with locals, sometimes inside their homes, Terdoo and Xavier were careful about respecting the cultural differences. They leaned on their instructor’s expertise to understand what was important in this community. In class before their trip, they discussed appropriate dress (wear loose clothes for the weather — it’s hot, and you’ll be glad for the air flow!), Kenyan culture and active listening skills. Since much of their communication was done through a translator, it was important to listen to how people were speaking, not just what was said. It called on the students to be very engaged with body language and tone.

Terdoo says intent speaks louder than anything. “If you go in with pure intentions, people will speak and open up to you. I think people saw that we were coming from a sincere place, and that helped us get the rawest data we possibly could.”

The SAIT students speaking with a village in Kisii County. Members of the Kisii Eye Hospital community health team administered eye tests to community members while Terdoo and Xavier gathered feedback from villagers.

A short trip with lasting impact

Reflecting back on their experience, even months later, Terdoo and Xavier feel their perspectives were broadened in ways they will carry with them.

“The saying goes ‘you grow the most when you’re uncomfortable’ and that couldn’t be truer,” Terdoo says. “This trip forced me to rediscover myself and reevaluate my personal growth, challenging me to confront my biases, expand my empathy and cultivate a deeper understanding of the complexities of the world we inhabit.”

Xavier agrees, also looking to the interconnectedness of world systems: “I hope this experience puts me on the path of global citizenship. There are so many systemic issues around the world that trying to fix all of them is impossible, but this is a perfect example of how you can do good work fixing just one.”

SAIT students, community members and Kisii Eye Hospital community health promoters enjoying a shady space on a hot sunny day.

This trip was just one opportunity SAIT had to support Operation Eyesight Universal. In Spring 2025, another class of SAIT School of Business students will be Ghana-bound to support their work for another community partner.

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