We plan and implement a number of week-long service trips each year, for which we recruit dedicated vision care professionals and highly-qualified personnel to volunteer their time to deliver high-quality vision care to the local community. VHI field programs offer the experience of a lifetime—we work with communities with little to no access to eye care who are grateful for the high-quality care we provide.
VHI will be partnering with Dr. Mehdi Ghajar in Tajikistan to work with the talented and selfless Tajik ophthalmologists in expanding their care and techniques in corneal transplantation, phacoemulsification, glaucoma surgery and pediatric eye care.
The Mt. Meru region is in need of eye care services and we are honored to be able to provide them in partnership with the Mt. Meru Tumaini Health Clinic. With their support and knowledge of the local community, our team will be able to reach and serve those who may not have access to regular eye care.
During the program, we will be providing comprehensive eye exams for up to 750 low-income Tanzanians with little access to health care, and do fittings for glasses. If necessary, we will also be screening for eye disease, diagnose, and create a referral and plan for treatment. This program is designed to improve the visual health of the local community and to make a positive impact on people's lives.
VHI is partnering again with the Ministry of Health of Grenada and St. Georges University to provide cataract surgery for a backlog of patients on their waiting list, and to provide additional surgical training for local ophthalmologists using their phaco machines and equipment.
We are implementing another VHI program partnering with the Lions Club of Utatlán, and Mayor of Teculutan, who is passionate about eye care and cataract surgery. The mayor has committed to hiring an ophthalmologist for the town, donating a municipal building, and providing continuous eye care to the Municipalidad of Teculutan, which serves the town of Teculutan and the impoverished outlying villages in the surrounding mountains. VHI has committed to procuring donated lanes of eye equipment so that he can have a full-time eye care professional in the town.
VHI has worked closely over the years with the Serving at the Crossroads and Clinica Manos Amigas in La Entrada, Honduras to build capacity and provide vision care. We will be performing high-volume, Manual Small Incision cataract surgery (MSICS) in rural Honduras in addition to strabismus surgery to fix alignment in the eyes for children and adults.
