BOY EYES U.S.; 10-YEAR-OLD FACES SURGERY NOT AVAILABLE IN HIS HOMELAND.

Byline: Angela M. Lemire Staff Writer

When Befta Mogese-Tedlla packed up her 10-year-old son's suitcase for his trip to America, she included a hand-carved crucifix, several necklaces and other artifacts from their native Ethiopia.

Beyond language barriers, the items were ways for her and her husband, Mogus, to thank doctors and families in Santa Clarita they had never met. These people had offered to cure her son Tsega's deteriorating vision that became clouded with cataracts.

Tsega Mogese-Tedlla, of Dire Dawa, Ethiopia, on Tuesday will undergo the first of two surgeries at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital to replace lenses in both eyes with synthetic implants. The nonprofit state chapter of Heal the Children coordinated the trip, enlisted local doctors to volunteer their services and found a local Valencia family to host the boy's stay at no expense to the Ethiopian family.

One of those thank-you tokens, a dark, hand-carved and very ornate wood cross, already has been delivered to Carrie and Steve Kish, the Valencia couple who are hosting Tsega's eight-week stay in their home with their four sons.

``Isn't that beautiful?'' said Carrie, motioning to the crucifix featured prominently on the living room mantle. ``We spoke to Tsega's father on the phone the other night. They miss him, but they're overall very supportive.''

``He'll be going back to a very loving family,'' Heal the Children's state chapter President Laura Renner said this week. ``They just didn't have the means to get this operation there in Ethiopia.''

Though it's now a common procedure in America, the eye surgery Tsega needed was unavailable in his homeland, a suburban community similar in climate and resources to Santa Clarita, Renner said. His parents, both schoolteachers in Dire Dawa, enlisted Heal the Children to help find medical treatment for their only son after his vision began to slowly deteriorate over the last year, beginning with his ability to see distances.

Heal the Children is a nonprofit organization with chapters in 14 states that provides medical treatment for children worldwide, including the United States.

``Ideally, our organization sends medical teams to countries, to help as many children as possible with the money we have,'' Renner said. ``When we can't do that for certain cases, we try to bring the children here.''

Renner, a Valencia resident, saw the family's request among her files and asked her own ophthalmologist, Douglas Engh, if he'd volunteer his services.

Engh agreed, and other details fell into place. Ethiopian Airlines donated a flight to New York, while a Heal the Children contact there raised funds for the connecting flight to Los Angeles. Through the Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Foundation, other medical services were arranged with local anesthesiologist Howard Singer and pediatrician Loraine Stern.

Steve and Carrie Kish, who know Renner through Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha Catholic Church in Saugus, agreed to host Tsega's eight-week stay, which includes several weeks of recovery periods, pre-operation and follow-up exams. Also, Tsega will attend sixth grade at the Northpark Elementary School during his stay.

So far, his adjustment to the new culture that surrounds him seems to be going smoothly.

Beside being able to attend an American school, he's been exposed to a new language, foods, pastimes, toys and alphabet. He speaks very little English but seems to be learning phrases very quickly, Carrie Kish said.

Seven-year-old Nathan Kish and Tsega spend much of their time playing basketball, riding bicycles and playing with motorized cars.

The two also invented a new ball game, combining soccer and lacrosse techniques.

One of his favorite experiences so far has been the trip to the Los Angeles Zoo, said Tsega's translator, Mahlet Negussie, who coincidentally moved from Dire Dawa three years ago and is a former student of Tsega's mother.

At the zoo, Tsega seemed more interested in the visitors than the animals, because the people were so diverse, Carrie Kish said.

While Tuesday's operation is the main focus of Tsega's trip to Santa Clarita, his stay also has brought an unexpected cultural exchange to the Kish household.

At the zoo, Tsega taught her family the names of animals in his native language.

Another day, Nathan made a game out of placing stickers on objects throughout the house and labeling them to teach Tsega new words in English.

Negussie said Tsega is not nervous about Tuesday's operation and fully understands what it will entail and accomplish.

Carrie Kish described Tsega as a ``stoic patient,'' noting that he seemed at ease during a pre-operation exam on Wednesday with Engh.

``When he last spoke with his father over the phone, his father told him to be brave,'' she said. ``And he is.''

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Photo: (Color) Ophthalmologist Douglas Engh gives a reassuring hand to Tsega Mogese-Tedlla, of Dire Dawa, Ethiopia, who on Tuesday will undergo the first of two surgeries at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital to replace lenses in both eyes with synthetic implants. A Valencia family is hosting his eight-week stay in the United States.

Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer