Project:
Unite for Sight: Sri Lanka
Goals:
Valda and the Unite for Sight team went to Sri Lanka to provide much needed vision services after the devastating tsunami of 2004 that killed nearly a quarter of a million people in Asia and displaced millions.
Challenges:
Language barriers, religious differences, and working with people who were still suffering from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Approach:
We partnered with a non-governmental agency that connected us to the chief Buddhist monk for the Abalongada area. He introduced us to the people in the refugee camps.
Results:
Vision services: eye exams, eye glass fitting, surgical and educational partnerships. Vision was restored to so many, and sometimes simply giving a pair of reading glasses made the difference.
