Hi Everyone,

Thanks for visiting my fundraising page. Next month, I will be traveling to Ethiopia on a two week outreach project with Vision Aid Overseas (http://www.vao.org.uk). I along with a team of 3 other UK Volunteer Optometrists will be involved in visiting villages, testing peoples eyes, helping identify treatable eye conditions and dispensing spectacles. The bulk of our visit will involve teaching locals how to test eyes on some of the worlds poorest people, so that they themselves can provide a sustainable eyecare plan to those who have little or no provision for such service. This will enable the community to become more self sufficient in the future, and not rely so heavily on regular trips from VAO. This in turn will make it possible for VAO to reach other countries and help more people in the future.

Eyecare is something we all take for granted. It's hard to comprehend that 670,000,000 people in the world don't have access to basic eyecare or medical treatment which could improve their lives, or even save their sight. A life without clear sight is hard for most of us to imagine, but sadly it’s a reality for many. It can have a devastating impact on people’s live and livelihoods.

Imagine as a child you being placed in a blind school and taught braille just because you don't have the spectacles to enable you to see the chalk board. Not being able to see to work, to provide food and shelter for your family. Never have seen your loved ones clearly. These are just some of the examples that these vulnerable people face on a day to day basis and it's sickening to think that all they need is a simple pair of spectacles. The aim is for people in the developing world to be self sufficient and be trained in eye care for the future health of the nation.

This is where YOU come in. YOU can help make a significant difference. I appreciate money is scarce at the moment but imagine what a small donation can do…

Just £5 to pay for an eye examination and pair of glasses to help a child see better (yes not even the price of a cinema ticket nowadays!)

£10 can pay for the raw materials needed to manufacture 3 spectacles at a Vision Centre (a round of drinks on a Friday night usually costs more!)

£22 can pay for a day’s training for an eye-care worker, giving them skills to provide for their community all year round (which is less than most peoples monthly mobile bill!)

£6000 can pay for a group of VAO Volunteers to go abroad and carry out their work for 2 weeks (ok now you're being very silly!!)

If you can give a little, thank you very much, and if you can give a lot, then that would be absolutely wonderful.

For 25 years, Vision Aid Overseas has been running completely on donations from people such as yourselves that want to help. For just a few pounds you can transform the quality of someones life.

 

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 and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.