Every optometry textbook in the world says the same thing: avoid reading in poor lighting. It strains the eyes.
These textbooks were not written in Ghana.
Official medical advice
As a trained professional, here is my advice for protecting your eyes during dumsor:
- Do not read in the dark
- Do not stare at your phone in the dark
- Do not squint at the fuel gauge of the generator in the dark
- Basically, avoid the dark
Thank you. That will be 200 cedis.
What actually happens
The light goes off at 7pm. Every Ghanaian household immediately turns into a cinema of phone torches pointing at the ceiling.
My patients come in the next week and say, "Doctor, my eyes are paining me." I ask if they've been reading in low light.
They look at me the way you look at someone who asks if you've been breathing air.
The dumsor timetable
Ghanaians are the only people on earth who can read a load-shedding timetable, understand it, plan their life around it — and still be completely surprised when it's wrong.
"They said 6 to 12! It's only 5:40!"
My guy, you have been in this country how long? The timetable is not a schedule. It is a suggestion. It is a horoscope with voltage.
A small medical breakthrough
After years of careful research, I can confirm that dumsor has improved one aspect of Ghanaian eyesight: night vision.
My people can now find the matchbox, the candle, the rechargeable lamp and the TV remote in total darkness, in under four seconds, while shouting "Who touched my charger?"
They should study us. Honestly. NASA should send a team.
Until then, keep your eyes rested, blink often, and if you're reading this on your phone during dumsor — close it.
After you share it.