INVERCLYDE people should take a bow – yet again – for helping a charity.

This time their generosity meant that last month 225 African people received the gift of sight from ‘Fighting Blindness in Ethiopia’.

This relatively small charity is organised by Ethiopian Ergate Ayana, who came to Greenock to be a nurse at Inverclyde Royal.

The charity has treated more than 2,500 people in rural Ethiopia since 2006.

A delicate operation to replace an opaque lens caused by cataract diseases takes only 15 minutes, but the result is a new life.

Patients’ joy is unbounded at being able to see again, and each success brings enormous satisfaction to mercy medics.

This is a heartening example of dedication by Ergate’s award-winning team, including three IRH nurses, volunteering year after year to help poor people who, otherwise, would be literally living in the dark and depending on others.

The big-heartedness of Inverclyde people was further emphasised in the £1,000 donated after a Tele report in advance of the latest mission — a sizeable boost towards the next visit in October or January.

This is humanitarian work that everyone can relate to. Imagine for a few seconds what it would be like if you couldn’t see. It’s frightening.

We are very fortunate to have a health service that can perform vital eye operations on our doorstep, and to have such committed NHS employees who regularly go well above and beyond their duties.