American journalist and historian Henry Adams once said, “Teachers affect eternity; you can never tell where their influence stops.” The teachers of Edmonton Public Schools have taken that statement to another level with their Charity Trust Fund.

A generous supporter of Operation Eyesight for more than 25 years, the Edmonton Public Teachers’ Charity Trust Fund’s mandate is to support Edmonton children and their families, as well as to provide general community support and reach out on an international basis. “It’s a wonderful way for our members to give back to their community,” explains Nels Olsen, a teacher and chair of the donations committee. “Our members find the Charity Trust Fund payroll deductions a convenient way to donate to local and international charities.”

The Charity Trust Fund was established more than 40 years ago and distributes donations to about 35 agencies each year. Operation Eyesight, the only internationally-focused recipient for many years, gained the Charity Trust Fund’s support for a couple of simple reasons: “The committee felt that the organization had a very large impact for what amounted to a modest donation, and Operation Eyesight uses the money we give so effectively.”

Donating internationally helps to give their students perspective about supporting community both at home and abroad. “It also shows our members that they have impact far beyond Edmonton and Canada,” says Nels.

In fact, their impact is international and reaches some of our world’s most vulnerable people. By supporting projects like community development in India and hospitals and outreach programs in Africa, countless children, women and men see a brighter future, thanks to the compassionate members of Edmonton Public Teachers Local No. 37.

The post Thanks to you: Edmonton Public Teachers’ Charity Trust Fund appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

On Wednesday, we opened a brand-new facility to replace the old Watborg Eye Services clinic, which is located in the Awutu Senya District, just outside Ghana’s capital city, Accra. As you can imagine, the completion of a significant capital project like this is cause to celebrate. Finally, after years of planning and months of construction and equipping, this hospital is ready to go.

From my perspective as vice-president of our International Programs, I can tell you that the original clinic was well used, serving a population of over one million. But it was too small and worn out, and not able to meet the critical needs of these residents. Ghana has a population of 23 million, of which more than 200,000 are blind, mostly from avoidable causes. With increased space, more well-trained doctors and nurses, and the latest equipment, the new facility is going to make a major dent in those statistics, both in the areas of treatment and prevention.

Dr. Boateng Wiafe, the talented surgeon and administrator who directs all our projects in Africa, has been closely associated with Watborg for many years. You can imagine how thrilled he is to finally have better tools to do the job. The hospital is staffed and equipped to treat a wide range of eye problems according to international standards of excellence – offered to all, regardless of their ability to pay. It will also provide training programs, outreach eye screening for school children, and education to increase the awareness of blindness as a major public health issue.

In these and other ways, the Watborg hospital is truly unique, and will serve as a model that can be replicated in other African countries. I know it will have a huge impact on the availability and quality of eye care throughout West Africa.

Dr. Wiafe is pleased with the way the surrounding community was involved in the process, and how it will benefit in many practical ways. Here’s what he had to say:

“The Awutu Senya District is one of the newly created districts in Ghana. The district has some health centres, but the new and expanded Watborg Eye Services is the first eye hospital in the district. Just by opening up this area, we have increased development activities in the area. Besides the construction, Operation Eyesight put in the access road, and brought in water and electricity. So even before the facility has officially opened, it has activated the community.

“We envision this facility will provide quality eye care to the district. Formerly, residents would have to travel long distances to access eye care services, but now this barrier has been removed. The Institute will provide employment for some of the residents in the area. Already, a restaurant has been opened at the junction where the access road joins the highway, and we anticipate some shops and services will open. Taxi services will start coming to the facility, to bring patients.

“The community will also benefit from eye health education. The district director of health has already started using the Institute to train nurses and midwives as well as the volunteers on eye health. This will trickle down to the community so that they will all enjoy healthy eyes.”

Of course, none of this could happen without generous donors. Next week I’d like to tell you about the family from Calgary that made it all possible. We should have some more photos then too. Stay tuned…

The post Celebrating a new hospital in Ghana (Part 1) appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

When poverty leads to blindness, it’s truly heartbreaking because there is little hope without outside help. Countless children miss out on an education, simply because they can’t afford a pair of eyeglasses – they can’t see the chalkboard or focus on words in books. The little girls, especially, are doomed to live wretched, marginalized lives if no one reaches out to them.

Universal Children’s Day is coming up on November 20. This is a good time to think about kids in trouble, especially those threatened by blindness and low vision. Did you know that every minute, a child goes blind somewhere in the world?

In 1954, the United Nations created Universal Children’s Day, knowing that the youngest are often most at risk. Today, the day is celebrated all over the world to promote international improvement of children’s welfare.

Operation Eyesight is deeply concerned about the welfare of children. Our program partners work directly with children and their mothers to improve the conditions that promote eye health. In India, all of our partner hospitals now run optical shops and pharmacies in conjunction with the eye units. We also support immunization programs, nutrition classes, eye screenings and access to job training. Among our African partners, this same vision is becoming a reality.

Here’s an idea. If you’d like to reach out to a child right now, see if you have a spare $20. That will purchase an eye exam and brand new custom-fitted eyeglasses for three children in Africa or India (yes, you read that right – three individual pairs of glasses). Our online Gift Guide has details about this, along with other ways to help kids in need. Have a look, and thanks for thinking about the children.

The post Think of the children appeared first on Operation Eyesight.