Vision Aid Overseas - Helping the world to see. Malawi - June 2008

I work part-time as an optician and for some while I have been considering becoming a volunteer for a project with Vision Aid Overseas (VAO).  I think it was the death of my only sister, Val, two years ago that made me realise that it’s no good just thinking about something – if we want to do it, you have to get on and do something about it.  So I did and signed up last autumn.  In February my friend Maggie, who I met in 1973 on the first day of our Ophthalmic Optics degree course at Aston University, phoned to say she was leading a VAO project in Malawi, south east Africa, in June and would I like to be part of her team.  Knowing Maggie so well, and that she has been on three previous projects, one in Senegal and two in Malawi, one of which she was the leader, it didn’t take me long to say yes.  I have been on a training day in Birmingham and I am in the middle of inoculations.
		Having now completed her VAO project, Janet writes:
		Here are just three photos from sight testing clinics in Malawi.  Our team of six Vision Aid Overseas volunteers arrived back safely on 23 June after a very successful project, during which we screened 1820 people and supplied 1600 pairs of spectacles (distance, reading or sunglasses).  It was hard work but an amazing experience and very worthwhile.
		The girl in the photo is Lucy, a 16 year old who had never had spectacles and I found her to need about -20 Dioptres in each eye, that's about four times more short-sighted than I am!    I hope to write a fuller report for the September issue of the Parish Magazine, and you can hear me talk about my Malawi trip at St. Peter's when the Friends of St. Peter's are organising an afternoon tea on Saturday 4 October at 3.30pm - all welcome.
VAO is a charity dedicated to people in the developing world whose lives are blighted by poor eyesight.  300 million people in the developing world need spectacles to live an ordinary life, but do not have them due to poverty and the lack of optical services.  The World Health Organisation has acknowledged this is the leading cause of avoidable visual impairment.  Many people who are functionally blind simply need spectacles to see.  Without them children fail at school, parents have to stop working and elderly people are forced to live without dignity.  The consequences for individuals and their communities can be devastating.
The work of VAO focuses on three activities: Optical Training – All developing countries suffer from a severe shortage of optical professionals.  VAO provides training for doctors and other health workers in its target countries, equipping them with the skills required to examine eyes and dispense spectacles. Optical Workshop Development – VAO establishes optical workshops that employ local staff to glaze and manufacture spectacles to the precise requirements of each patient. Direct Service Delivery – VAO sends teams of optical professionals to some of the world’s poorest countries.  Their priority is to reach patients who would otherwise have no opportunity to receive an eye examination and spectacles.  The volunteers set up clinics, screen large numbers of patients and provide spectacles where necessary. Our Malawi project was a Direct Service Delivery project.  Our team consists of Maggie from Wimborne, Jack from London, Kimberley and Conor from Glasgow, Leona from Cardiff and myself.  As a volunteer I am asked to make a voluntary donation of £600, which can be gift aided, to go on a project and I am very happy to do this as I am sure it will be an amazing experience.  My contribution will just about cover my airfare SO this is where you come in.  If you would like to support this VAO project in Malawi and other projects, and help cover the cost such as transporting spectacles, accommodation etc, you can by giving a donation, either online at www.justgiving.com/janetcoopermalawi or by cheque payable to “Vision Aid Overseas”, gift aiding where possible (ask me for a leaflet), and send to 28 Maiden Castle Road, Dorchester, DT1 2ER.  I would be very grateful for your support. For the price of a cup of coffee YOU can change the future of an African village. How? By making a donation to Vision Aid Overseas that will help to dispense a pair of spectacles to a teacher.  Every little helps.  Many thanks.  Please keep our Malawi project in your prayers.  I hope to be able to let you know how we got on later in the year.  P.S.  Don’t forget that most opticians’ practices collect unwanted spectacles for the developing world.