The gift of sight is something many of us take for granted...

Imagine no longer being able to provide for your family, having to quit your job when all you needed was a simple pair of reading glasses. Imagine if your child was unable to get an education because they cannot see their school board; all they needed was a pair of distance glasses. Imagine losing your sight because you were not provided with basic care and treatment. Unfortunately, this is a reality faced by millions in the developing world.

285 million people are visually impaired globally. The main two causes of visual impairment are refractive error which can simply be corrected with glasses  & cataract which can be treated with an operation.  The mission of Vision Aid Overseas is to enable people living in poverty to access affordable glasses and eye care.

In September 2018 I with five other volunteers will be travelling to Ghana for a two week assignment to help with the Vision Aid Overseas mission. I will be spending my first week at Cape Coast University to help pass on my skills and knowledge to support students who are training to become optometrists so they can continue to provide eye care within their communities. During the second week I will partake in the outreach programme where hundreds of people from different villages queue daily to get their eyes tested. It is here I will be supporting the students and also carrying out sight tests, prescribing glasses & screening for eye diseases.

Since the charity was founded 28 years ago it has helped over 1 million people to see in countries such as Burkina Faso, Ethiopa, Ghana, Malawi, Sierra Leone, Uganda and Zambia. Donations from fundraising are vital for the charity to continue it's operations overseas. 

• £5 can pay for an eye test and a pair of glasses.    
• £22 can pay for a day of training for an eye care worker.
• £100 can pay for a community outreach team to see 500 people.
• £1000 can pay for a motorbike for the hospital to use for outreach to the isolated communities, many of which cannot be reached by car. 

Let's together help fight poverty and transform access to eye care!

Throughout the next few months I will doing various fundraising activities which I will keep you all updated on via my page. Any donations small or large would be gratefully appreciated (don't forget to add gift aid!). 

Thank you in advance for helping to support a worthwhile cause and don't forget to share my page with others!