In 1985, a group of optometrists travelled to third world Africa, and were shocked to find a lack of affordable eye care in the developing world.  They decided to set up a charity to offer eye examinations and spectacles to those ill able to afford them, and so Vision Aid Overseas was born.

Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in Sub Saharan West Africa. It borders Mali, Niger, Ghana, Benin, Togo and the Ivory Coast. Despite its proximity to some politically volatile countries, Burkina Faso (the land of honourable men) is a surprisingly peaceful place. However, it has many problems. Among the poorest countries in the world, Burkina is ranked 175 out of 177 countries in the UN’s latest Human Development Index. Life expectancy is 47.5 years, with the chances of making it to 40 standing at less than 40%.The scale of malnutrition is hard to grasp. About 1/5th of the population is undernourished, and more than 300,000 Burkinabe children under 5 die every year. In Burkina, 81% of the population live on less than $2 a day, and 45% live on less than $1 per day

In January 2007, I was asked to return to Burkina Faso, West Africa, to help again with the supply of eye care and spectacles. With the figures quoted above, and with so many other problems existing, how can a simple pair of spectacles be so important.

Picture the scene - the head of the household is responsible for feeding his family. Many people earn their living by sewing, tailoring and weaving in Burkina. When the head of the family cannot see to sew, the family does not eat. Many other people are involved in trying to grow crops and raise animals. When the intense sun and the overpowering dust combine to cause corneal eye infections and cataracts, they cannot see to work. The family once again does not earn enough to eat.

Spectacles go through an amazing process before ending up on a Vision Aid Overseas project. When you hand a pair of spectacles in at your local opticians, they are collected and sent to the charity offices in Crawley. From there, they are sent to prisons in the UK, where prisoners are taught to measure the lens power, sort and label and pack the spectacles. They are then sent off to Africa, India or occasionally Eastern Europe too.
 

Clinics are set up in Africa - usually in a place which has never had access to any sort of eye care at all. The locals arrive early and are prepared to wait for days if necessary. Some mornings we would be told over breakfast at 7.00am that over 600 people were waiting. An eye examination “VAO style” is much like an eye examination in the UK, except most people are illiterate, so a special eye test chart using the letter E is used. The E points up, down, left or right, and the patient has to be taught to point in the direction of the E. The vision without spectacles is assessed, but many people don’t get beyond this point. They have such dense cataracts, or such scarred corneas, that spectacles cannot help. But for those who have a little vision, every care is given by the team of Optometrists to give the most accurate prescription possible - all this in another language too!

The patient finally arrives in dispensing. In the UK, colour, fit and styling of spectacles is as important to most as the vision itself. How different life in Burkina is! My job is to select the best prescription for the patient, with fit being the second priority. Styling is just about making the best of what’s available. Towards the end of the 2nd week, I may be giving pink diamante spectacles to middle aged men!! They are so happy to be able to see, the looks become unimportant. The gratitude and smiles are so amazing. Suddenly, my job in the UK seems unnecessarily complicated. I can’t wait to do it all again.

So how can you help?

-  Visit www.vao.org.uk to find out more

-  Donate unwanted spectacles through most local opticians

-  Give money to help the work of VAO

-  Pray that this worthwhile work will continue

Jennie Mapp
top