Sight can make the difference between a life of poverty and a life of opportunity.
There are 670 million men, women and children globally who are blind or vision impaired simply because they do not have access to an eye exam and a pair of glasses. More than 90% live in developing countries.
Optometry Giving Sight funds the solution by supporting programs that offer not only eye exams and glasses, but that establish vision centers and train local eye care professionals in communities with little or no access to eye care services.
Urgent Help is Needed to Give Sight to 300,000
Optometry Giving Sight is challenging optometrists and their patients globally to help fund the establishment of 10 vision centers in developing countries in the first half of 2010. As part of Optometry Giving Sight's Say YEStoday™ for a better tomorrow campaign, the new centers will give sight to at least 300,000 people in need.
By saying YEStoday, optometrists and their patients can make a direct impact on transforming the lives of people currently living without vision care. Funds raised by June 30 will help train local eye care professionals and establish 10 new vision centers in Haiti, Tanzania, Mozambique, Malawi, Sri Lanka and Guyana.
Just one community-based vision center can provide sustainable vision services for up to 3,000 people per year. This means that over 10 years, 10 vision centers can give the gift of vision for up to 300,000 people.
Establishing a vision center in a developing community involves more than simply finding or constructing a building. It involves creating and equipping suitable exam rooms, providing access to a fully-equipped optical lab, and training optometric professionals to support these centers.
How Optometry Giving Sight Helps
By the end of 2009, Optometry Giving Sight will have distributed $3 million through its partners to help screen and provide basic eye care services to more than 1.7 million people, train 1,550 mid-level eye care personnel, and create 101 vision centers/optical workshops. The funds will be directed to projects in Sri Lanka, Southern Africa, East Timor, Latin America, Indigenous Australia, Papua New Guinea, as well other parts of the world
How You Can Help
The easiest way to help is to make either a one-time or regular donation. Optometry Giving Sight guarantees that 85% of all funds raised go directly to programs that give sight to those most in need.
VISIT the Optometry Giving Sight website
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