VOLUNTEER OPTOMETRIC SERVICE TO HUMANITY (VOSH )

The Volunteer Optometric Service to Humanity received a grant for $2,900 from the World Service Committee to help provide equipment to help people in the Dominican Republic and Haiti see clearly for the first time.  Mary Harp-Jirschele traveled with VOSH in January/February 2012.  The countries of Haiti and the Dominican Republic are separated by a 75 ft. river.  This year, their group consisted of 3 eye doctors, 4 opticians and 4 others who helped. The group traveled 6 hours by bus to get to their destination in Bonica.  They stopped half way to their destination in San Juan Maguana where Rotarians gave them soda, beer and a birthday cake for Mary’s sister.  Bonica has a population of about 1,200.  They set up shop in a run down hospital in the Dominican Republic since the government of Haiti would not let them in the country.  They slept in a dorm style cinder block structure that had showers and toilets attached.  Mosquito nets were over their beds and you had to watch what you ate and drank.  Each morning they would arrive at the clinic at 7:30 a.m. and 300 people would be lined up.  Haitians walked or rode on horseback, donkey or a beat up pick truck to the Dominican side to see one of the eye doctors.  Whole villages would come together.  Seeing people from both countries presented a challenge since no one spoke Creole.  Typically they only see adults but they do see children that have serious problems.  They brought about 3,000 pairs of used readers and regular glasses with them and 300 sunglasses which is important in warm weather climates.  Mary’s role was to do acuity checks that saved the eye doctors 12 minutes per person.  Mary saw 1,261 people during the time she was in the Dominican Republic.  The acuity check was easy for those who knew the alphabet but for those who did not Mary taught them the direction chart.  This could be a scary process since the people did not know what was going to do to them.  An elderly woman stood in line for 3 hours and Mary did her acuity check.  Mary took her to the refractor to take a picture of her eye.  The woman took off her clothes thinking that she was getting a mammogram.  Putting glasses on someone for the first time is very rewarding.  Leaves and grass look sharp versus looking like a cotton ball or matt.  Women can thread a needle and read.  People are taught to wear their glasses all the time and not just put them in their pockets.  They gave the people in Haiti and the Dominican Republic the gift of sight and showed them that someone in this world cares about them.