Moldovan Miracle

Hans Bjørn Bakketeig changed the lives of about 10,000 people in Moldova. He examined their vision, discovered that they had poor eyesight, and prescribed them glasses. Simple? Not in a country where Hans is the only optometrist. Hans arrived in Moldova from Norway in 2001. He found that there was nobody to heal eye defects in the poorest country in Europe. Children with poor eyesight remained hidden at home. At school they were considered stupid, but they just couldn't see the board. This film follows Hans and his assistant Tatyana as they travel the countryside, where many people still cannot afford to buy glasses. But health workers have bigger plans than merely giving away glasses from the Norwegian non-profit organisation Help Moldova. They want to build the first eye clinic in Moldova. They are trying to gain support, but face bureaucracy, poverty and political chaos. In the year when the documentary was released, the government fell four times. The film also highlights the corruption that divides the country both politically and at the everyday level. (One World)