This year I will be taking a team of 5 Optometrists and a Dispensing Optician to Livingstone in Southern Zambia in the first two weeks of August. We will be delivering Part 1 of the VAO Refraction Training Programme to 12 Ophthalmic Nurses and Ophthalmic Clinical Officers. They are already highly skilled in the detection and treatment of eye disease but lack the necessary skills to prescribe spectacles when needed. 

Every year VAO provides thousands of eye examinations and good quality spectacles to some of the poorest people in the world, transforming lives. The training programmes ensure that the work is continued after the volunteers return home. The average cost of sending a volunteer abroad is £1500 and I am aiming to make this programme self-funding so to get off to a cracking start I will be participating in Langport Festival of Walking on Sunday 12 June - dickie hip and crock knees notwithstanding. 

VAO can provide an eye exam and a pair of spectacles for the price of a sandwich so a small donation will make a HUGE difference.

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