Kike Otaegi has been and continues to be the driving force behind Munduko begiak in the Basque Country. Together with his partner, Karmele Lasa, they believed from day one in the project presented to them by their good friend Rafael Ribó and, over the years, they have managed to make the voice of people with serious visual impairments and without economic resources heard by a multitude of people both in the Basque Autonomous Community and in Nafarroa.
With sensitivity and determination, Kike has brought many friends to the cause and, currently, they form an unconditional team of people committed to the different activities of the Foundation. Together, they have organised many awareness-raising and visibility actions, getting involved in all aspects. They have also promoted fundraising projects, such as the Charity Day in Donostia, which has now been held for six editions, each time more successful, with more attendance and more funds raised.
Kike has also represented the Foundation in various meetings with collaborating and financing entities, contributing to the prestige that Munduko begiak has in the Basque Country as a benchmark entity in the fight in favour of the Universal Right to Sight. Since 2012, now retired from his profession, Kike has concentrated his efforts in Nafarroa and has left the representation in the Basque Autonomous Community in the hands of Ana Isasa, imbued with the same motivation and competence.
According to Miren Rodríguez, coordinator of Munduko begiak in the Basque Country, “none of what has happened would have been possible without Kike’s strength and dedication”. And so be it, for many more years to come.
Why did you decide to choose Munduko begiak as the organisation to which to dedicate your time and efforts? What does being involved with the Foundation bring to you, and what has led you to continue for so long?
First of all, I’m not saying anything new if I point out that Basque society has been and is very aware of solidarity in many different ways. With that close environment and, if you have some sensitivity and willingness, you can be in a position to contribute someway to others, whether they are near or far away.
When Rafael told me about the Eyes of the world project, what most attracted and encouraged me was the idea of resolving situations of avoidable blindness. It was something concrete, tangible, effective. In some countries, despite the poverty and lack of eye care structures, it was possible to begin to solve problems that in our environment are not such. That the commissions of ophthalmologists who were going to operate could contribute to the resolution of avoidable blindness, as in the case of cataracts, and that this, in turn, would have an impact on improving their economic situation. In addition to solving a serious health problem, it helped these people to come out of their darkness, to see the light of the possibility of working, of being able to join productive activities, which could help to limit their personal and family poverty… All of this encouraged me to lend a hand and to dream of something that today is called Munduko begiak – Eyes of the world.
I am of the opinion that, in any area of life, if you give, you receive. In relation to this subject, I remember the stories, experiences and feelings of ophthalmologists and auxiliary staff when they saw the reaction of their patients after being successfully operated on and seeing or returning to the light.
You have managed to form a solid group of volunteers, what has been the key? How have you been able to spread your enthusiasm to them so that they commit to the cause?
I usually comment, metaphorically, that when I worked I always carried two folders: the professional one and the volunteer one, but the reality was that I hardly looked at the second one. The situation of loneliness, I mean of being practically alone, presented me, in turn, with the need to activate a group of people, to set up a group of volunteers. After several explanatory meetings, recovering old friends, creating others, family members and others, the result about eight years ago was the formation of a group of volunteers that has been growing, creating a structure that has promoted and consolidated Munduko begiak.
People from different professions, with sensitivity towards social problems, who believe in the idea of avoidable blindness, with a common conception of volunteering as something derived from the personal will of each person, who contributes what they know, with a horizontal operation system and without obligations beyond the voluntary responsibility that each person assumes in carrying out the various awareness-raising activities, mounting photographic exhibitions, contact with institutions, presentation of projects, educational work with young students, solidarity meals, organisation of musical and cultural events, etc., and which results in the presence of a human group, where attendance at meetings is practically unanimous, and where respect and the idea of consensus and mutual collaboration are present in the debates.
This structure of volunteers, around 10 people, reactivates, in turn, other occasional cooperators who help us and contribute to the implementation of certain events, as in the case of the annual Solidarity Day. We should also highlight the professional presence of Miren and Alfonso, with their involvement in administrative tasks, in the preparation of projects and in contacts with the Administration, giving Munduko begiak a status of professionalism and good work, and the volunteers a point of support to think about other challenges.
How do you see the future of volunteering in the Basque Country and the future of Munduko begiak?
I mentioned earlier that there is a high degree of social involvement in the area of solidarity… and I think that talking about the future implies knowing what lies ahead.
At the level of Munduko begiak – Eyes of the world, we are faced with situations common to those of other foundations or NGOs. For example, how can we attract younger people to environments and concerns that are close to ours, so that this is not presented as something for retired people?
Extending our message to Basque society is a matter of reinforcing and, above all, consolidating the project. And, with that, the attempt to expand the number of volunteers with other activities.
What activities have you found most satisfying and which have been the most difficult to carry out? What activity that you have not yet carried out would you like to organise?
Well, perhaps one, which was the one I found most difficult to organise in the middle of the desert crossing. For years, many children from the Sahara have been coming to Euskal-Herria to spend their holidays. I think it was in 2012 when the majority (65) of the children who came to Gipuzkoa that summer had the opportunity to have their eye health checked by the Basque Health Service. We had the help of ophthalmologists resident in the Basque Country, several of whom were Eyes of the world volunteers and participants in the medical commissions that travelled to other countries. With this initiative, as well as detecting two complicated cases (one of which was treated here and the other had continuity of care in the Sahara camps), I learned more about the problem of vision and it helped me to reaffirm what I was doing.
Which activity to organise? If I could dream, I would dream of being able to set up a socio-medical-cultural event in the Basque Country that would have a great impact and could be a way of informing the public about the situation of eye health in many countries.
What do you think has been and continues to be your greatest contribution to the fight against avoidable blindness?
I am pleased to have pushed to activate and consolidate what is now a stable group of Munduko begiak – Eyes of the world volunteers in the Basque Country and Navarre.