Back at school when we were asked what we wanted to do career wise I felt a calling in to optometry.

Along the way I have discovered the amazing work Vision Aid Overseas (VAO) does. This charity works towards the aim of the vision 2020 initiative. This initiative was set up to stop preventable blindness in the world by the year 2020.

When VAO was first set up they would take teams over to areas where there was no access to primary eye care. Here they would set up an eye clinic and people would travel for days to get their eyes tested and hopefully get a pair of glasses. 

They soon realised that once the team left they took with them the hope of restoring vision to hundreds of people. 

They now focus on developing vision centres to train local health professionals to carry out eye tests and give them the equipment needed to make glasses. This is a sustainable method which can carry on long after VAO have left. 

I am going to be part of a team going to Lusaka in Zambia in March.

We will be spending one week in a school, not only testing eyes and providing glasses but will teach them how to avoid getting eye infections which quite often lead to blinding conditions.

If a child can't see they can't get an education.

For the second week we will be going out to more remote parts of the country testing eyes. The reason why many adults can't see is because they need a simple pair of reading glasses which we can pick up for as little as £1!!! 

If they can't see, they can't work and become a burden to their family.

This opportunity has been what I've been praying for since I started optometry and I am very excited to finally get the opportunity to make a difference.

Any donation, no matter how small, will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.