Jun 10, 2018 | Recent VOSH News, Volunteer
Dr. Nelson Edwards and Gerald Jackson are looking to add 2 or 3 other eye doctors to join their team on an upcoming Rotary eye clinic mission. The mission will be traveling to a Mayan village in northwest Guatemala on November 2-11, 2018. This team will be going to provide eye care to the Mayan people who have limited access to such care. For detailed information about the clinic, please contact Gerald Jackson, a Director of Casa Colibrí, at gerry@gjengineering.com. You can also visit their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/CasaColibriUS/ or their website...
Jun 10, 2018 | Recent VOSH News
I received information from VOSH International that a team was needed into Sint Maarten to provide eye care for the primary school children and being sponsored by the St. Maarten Lions Club. I requested permission from the VOSH-Ohio president to pursue this mission. On August 16, 2017 a letter was sent out to a list of optometrists offering this mission from VOSH-Ohio. I received responses from 13 optometrists showing interest in this mission. By August 21st, I had a team set up to be able to provide the services needed. Working with the Sint Maarten Lions Club and Lion Davey Woods, the dates determined were November 11 through 19, 2017. Invitations were received from the Lions Club, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health wishing us a success with the project. Our lead OD suggested that we obtain sunglasses for the children and I proceeded to find enough sunglasses to provide for 5,000 children. These were received from VOSH Southeast in Florida and the Lions Sorting Center in Indiana. Our local Bluffton Lions Club assisted us in sorting and packing these sunglasses for shipping. The mission was cancelled due to a major hurricane; however, the sunglasses were ready to go and we decided to ship these ahead, hoping that the mission would be on again soon. January 22, 2018 I received an email from Lion Davey Woods from the St. Maarten Lions Club indicating that they were working hard to get the project going for May 12 through 18, 2018. I again notified team members; however, some were unable to attend due to difficulty with those particular...
Jun 6, 2018 | Chapter of the Month, Recent VOSH News
For its repeated and marvelous support of the people of the Dominican Republic, and its many activities, we are proud to recognize VOSH-Nebraska as the VOSH June Chapter of the Month. Lindsey Behrendt, O.D. Nebraska-VOSH Chapter Member submitted the following report. Ellen Weiss, OD, FVI is the VOSH-Nebraska’s marvelous President: ——— On January 8-11, 2018, Nebraska VOSH and associated VOSH members provided vision care to the people of Santiago and the surrounding communities in the Dominican Republic. The clinic was held at the Creighton University ILAC (Institute for Latin American Concern) Mission. Twenty-one volunteers from Nebraska, Missouri, Iowa, and Oklahoma participated in the trip, including six optometrists and eight optometry students. The group saw 812 patients throughout their four-day clinic, and they dispensed 564 pairs of glasses on-site, not including sunglasses, lens cases, and other supplies dispensed. They custom ordered 57 pairs of glasses for patients that had prescriptions that were not able to be provided on-site and these will be dispensed to the patients in the following few weeks after their departure. The team referred 191 patients for further care and treatment, including cataract surgery, retina, strabismus, and glaucoma consultation. A team of surgeons will be at ILAC in March to perform surgeries and provide follow-up care for those patients in need. The trip was an extremely rewarding experience for all those involved and the group was met by thankfulness and grace from the Dominican community! Video link...
May 31, 2018 | Recent VOSH News, Volunteer
OutreachPARAGUAY is looking to collaborate with a VOSH chapter to provide vision care to rural Caazapá and Caaguazú, Paraguay. An anticipated 500 patients would need both refractive and ocular health care. OutreachPARAGUAY has taken other healthcare teams to Paraguay, and has a signed agreement with the Paraguayan Ministry of Health. OutreachPARAGUAY has a history of organizing service-education trips to Paraguay. The organization provides assistance with trip organization including pre-departure training, in-country programming, in-country ground transportation, hotels, food, translators, and cultural experiences and excursions. The Directors of OutreachPARAGUAY have been traveling to Paraguay for 30+ years and are well-connected. Milner Sosa was born in Paraguay and Eileen Sosa was introduced to Paraguay through her service as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Both would be very happy to explore how to bring needed eye care to resource-poor areas in Paraguay. Please contact Eileen Sosa at epsosa60@gmail.com for more information. More information about the organization can be found at their website: http://outreachparaguay.org...
May 31, 2018 | Recent VOSH News, Volunteer
Eye Corps, a non profit ophthalmology group, is looking to collaborate with VOSH teams on eye care trips to Moshi, Tanzania in October 2018. Screenings would be October 5-13 and Surgery October 13-20. For more details, please contact Eye Corps President Dr. Susan Macdonald...
May 31, 2018 | Messages, Recent VOSH News
VOSH-MI is planning a return trip to Nakuru, Kenya on January 11-25, 2019. We are looking for two Optometrists to join our team. Please contact Nelson Edwards, OD ngedwards.o.d@gmail.com for more information. This is a VOSH Michigan chapter mission. We are hosted in country by Rotary clubs in Nairobi and Nakuru. Lodging will be in hotels and after mission, we have r&r planned in the Maasai Mara national park with safaris. Costs include airfare from Detroit about $900, and in country cost of...
