A global charity is seeking to recruit optometrists for a ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ opportunity, as part of an eye health outreach in Sri Lanka.
Global Hand Charity (GHC) will be heading to a regional area in the Ampara district of Sri Lanka where the need for eye care is great.
The COVID-19 pandemic has made accessibility to eye care even more difficult and with international borders lifting it is now the time to give back the gift of sight
The six-day outreach trip is expected to take place in early March 2023. All volunteers are expected to self-fund the trip (airfares, accommodation, food, visa costs). GHC will provide the insurance and transportation to undertake the expedition.
GHC has been conducting eye care outreach programs since 2017 in remote communities of Laos, Cambodia, and Sri Lanka.
“The most recent outreach trip in January of 2020 led us to Prey Veng, Cambodia an agricultural region where many patients were farmers. The ocular pathology was high, and they had very limited access to eye care,” optometrist Marlene Boulos said.
“During the one-week period, we screened over 2,000 patients offering spectacles to those who required refractive corrections. Over 300 patients were screened and referred to our partner, Khmer Sight Foundation, and placed on the cataract and ptergyium pathway for surgery.”
Ms Boulos said the March expedition is part of Rotary Australia World Community Service Projections and will work with the Optometry Department of the University of Western Australia, the Rotary Club of Mill Point and Cambodia and Neth Sarana Australia Foundation.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has made accessibility to eye care even more difficult and with international borders lifting it is now the time to give back the gift of sight,” Ms Boulos said.
Anyone interested in volunteering for the March outreach to Sri Lanka can contact Ms Boulos on [email protected] or 0422 433 588.