Donations to Optometry Giving Sight make an impact by giving sight to people in need through the projects we fund. One of our funding priorities is to train local people as optometrists in the communities in which they live, all over the world. One of the most successful optometry schools we fund is in Mzuzu, Malawi.
Dr. Allan Jones, an optometrist and one of our “boots on the ground” through our funding of Canadian Vision Care, offered the following testimonial about the work at the school and some of its students:
“I was setting up vision screenings with the optometry school in Mzuzu, Malawi. They were interesting as we had two buses of students at these clinics. We have another fifteen children screenings planned. I brought five suitcases of new ophthalmoscopes, retinoscopes, Volk lenses and a portable autorefractor for the school, along with numerous small items like occluders, near point cards and arclights for all the students.
I have spent a fair bit of time getting equipment functional and teaching repairs. The school is doing great, and OGS can be proud of this school. By February, there will be over 100 graduated optometrists! Quite the accomplishment – thanks to OGS!! With the increased class size, this number will increase quickly.
I am now in the southern part to do some clinics with graduates. Hopefully, another 600 children will receive first eye exams. There are three eye hospitals I am visiting with hopes of placing optometrists there.”
As Dr. Jones attests, the students in Mzuzu are making a tangible difference in their communities. You can see their pride as they graduate and receive their OGS white coats! Their dreams of becoming optometrists have come true. Their dreams of helping their fellow citizens are coming true. YOU have helped make those dreams come true.
Donations from people like you make possible the training of future optometrists around the world. The school in Mzuzu, Malawi is just one example of the training your dollars help fund. Each graduate will go on to help hundreds of people each year. Together, we can continue to grow optometry wherever it is needed.