Linda Henry and her late husband, Geauga County Probate Court Judge Charles “Chip” Henry, met and fell in love while serving as Peace Corps volunteers in Lesotho, Africa in the early 1980s.
Linda Henry and her late husband, Geauga County Probate Court Judge Charles “Chip” Henry, met and fell in love while serving as Peace Corps volunteers in Lesotho, Africa in the early 1980s.
After returning home, they married and stayed steadfastly committed to a life of service, eventually making their way back to Africa.
“We returned to Lesotho and had vowed to go back to work there once he retired,” Linda recalled. “Of course, it did not work out that way.”
Chip died tragically in 2011 after he was struck by a minivan while riding his bicycle in Troy Township.
Despite losing her husband unexpectedly, Linda honored their promise.
“I have been working in Lesotho for the past 11 years,” she said. “Mainly with an orphanage in Mohale’s Hoek, but have also helped organize medical teams since 2018.”
Lesotho is a tiny mountainous independent kingdom within South Africa that has its own king and queen.
Linda and a team of other volunteers, including eye specialists and support staff, completed their latest mission in September with The Lesotho Connection, a non-denominational, nonprofit organization that “aspires to develop resources, promote understanding and foster mutuality between communities in the United States and Lesotho,” according to its website.
Linda serves as vice president of the organization, which was founded in 2007 with a mission to battle poverty and work to improve the lives of orphaned and vulnerable children; families with high instances of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and COVID-19; and those living in extreme poverty, according to its website.
September’s group was called the “Lesotho Eye Brigade” and included medical volunteers who paid their own way and treated hundreds of eye patients who were referred to them by local clinics, Linda said.
“The real heroes are the doctors who take time from their practice to do good across the ocean,” she said.
The team conducted two eye clinics in the village of Mohale’s Hoek, located in the southern part of the country, and partnered with organizations like The Tsepo Foundation, of Beachwood, Ohio, and The St. Camillus Centre, of Southern Lesotho, Linda said.
Dr. Ronald Jurcak, of Chagrin Valley Optometrists in Bainbridge Township, worked alongside Dr. Bokang Pitso, an optometrist from Lesotho, seeing over 350 patients in five days and conducting eye exams, fitting glasses, and prescribing and dispensing eye drops and ointments, Linda said.
Charlie Prexta, of Russell Township, was another local volunteer who joined the group, paying his own way using revenue from working as a cook at the Sunoco station in Russell, she said.
Prexta trained to search through thousands of donated glasses transported in 10 large suitcases, she said, adding each pair was in an individual plastic bag with a printout of the prescription. Most patients were able to be paired with glasses that closely fit their prescription.
The team’s patients were preselected at clinics in the surrounding district and the eye clinic was held in a rented church hall. Patients were given a day to show up for their appointment, Linda said.
The second clinic, involving cataract surgeries — which are not currently available in Lesotho — was held at a small local hospital, she added.
Dr. Robert Wenz, of Beachwood, was the lead doctor doing surgeries and was aided by his wife, Dr. Margie Wenz. Together with Dr. Omar Kadiebwe, an ophthalmologist from Lesotho, they completed 48 cataract surgeries, Linda said.
“I feel honored and privileged to be able to work with our team and patients to provide excellent care in very difficult environments,” Margie said. “I always return from these trips feeling like I have received as much as I have given. Patients are so grateful, giving and patient as we ask them to trust us to care for them.”
Margie, a retired gynecologist and Tsepo Foundation vice president, has been on more than a half dozen mission trips, including to South America and Lesotho. She works as a logistics person and operating room support, collecting the paperwork required for the medical team to enter the country and see patients, she said.
“The local people in the villages are so gracious and welcoming, trying to make sure they meet all of our needs,” she said.
In addition, Margie works to submit the donation certificates for all the medications, supplies and equipment required for the work, books airline and hotel reservations, coordinates packing and distributing luggage and fields any questions the team may have, she added.
During the recent mission, Margie prepared patients for surgery by taking their vital signs, identifying the operative eye and reviewing take-home instructions.
“I am grateful to be working with such a great team of providers and support,” she said.
Prexta, who recently turned 20, said The Lesotho Connection mission was his first experience out of the country.
“My takeaway is that I am lucky to be born with such great things like running water, electricity, heating and easily-accessible healthcare,” Prexta said. “It really showed me how much I take for granted. I was surprised how friendly the locals were. Everyone was so patient, even young kids, waiting hours to be seen.”
Linda said she looks forward to beginning the process for their next mission trip in October 2025.
In addition to the eye team, they plan to bring a medical brigade that would include providers in adult medicine, pediatrics and dentistry.
“We are immensely grateful for the support the people of Mohale’s Hoek and the government of Lesotho has given us in the past,” Linda said.
Photos submitted
Best Photo 😊 Charles “Chip” Henry and his wife, Linda Henry visiting Lesotho in 2007 to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary.
Lesotho Connection volunteer, Charlie Prexta, interacts with children at the orphanage in Lesotho during September’s goodwill mission trip.
Team photo of volunteers from Lesotho Connection’s eye brigade.
Geauga County Probate Court Judge Charles “Chip” Henry on horseback in 1981 for a work trek.
Lesotho Connection Vice-President Linda Henry’s task during September’s goodwill mission was operating the sterilizer unit for the operating instruments between each cataract surgery.
Left to right – Matsolo Tososi, a translator for doctors during cataract surgeries, Linda Henry, and Patricia, a nurse in training helping with cataract patients at the hospital.
