EYEsee News
EYEsee Founder Wins National Award
Monday, April 5, 2010
EYEsee is proud to announce that its founder, Janice Guzon, has been selected by Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation as one of the 50 National Scholars in the 2010 Coca-Cola Scholars Program. Coca-Cola Scholars are recognized for their capacity to lead and serve, and their commitment to making a significant impact on their schools and communities. All 250 Coca-Cola Scholar Finalists for this year were invited to an all expense-paid Scholars Weekend on March 25-28, 2010 at the Coca-Cola's headquarters in Atlanta, GA, for a chance to compete for the 50 National Scholar Awards. The National Selection Committee which determined the top 50 Coca-Cola National Scholars was comprised of leaders in business, government, education, and the arts.
EYEsee supports January 15-29, 2010 medical mission to the Pacific island of Ebeye
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Jacque Spence, co-founder of Canvasback Missions, reports on their January 15-29, 2010 medical mission to Ebeye. Canvasback Missions, a non-profit organization located in Benicia, CA, has been providing medical care to the Pacific since 1986. They are EYEsee's partner on medical missions to poor in the Pacific.
Ebeye is a tiny Pacific island where over 12,000 people are crammed onto 80 acres. The success of this trip was the result of many people and organizations joining hands. Major companies like Alcon Labs, Abbott Medical Optics, and SEE International donated supplies and equipment. Matson Lines donated a 20-foot sea freight container to ship the supplies. 400 patients received donated prescription and reading glasses. Many of the glasses were donated by EYEsee (Arlington Heights, IL), which is staffed by Saint Viator High School student volunteers.
Charles Ahn. M.D. (Chicago, IL) led this two-week mission From January 15-29. He and six other team members performed 192 cataract surgeries and screened close to 400 patients.
Patients lined the halls to see the specialists. Many of the patients were totally blind from cataracts. They were led into the clinic and the next day, they were able to walk away by themselves. Many of our patients had dense white cataracts which is caused by diabetes and made the surgeries challenging. A good percentage of our patients also showed retinal damage due to diabetes. The number of surgeries that were performed exceeded expectations and extra supplies had to be shipped in.
This was Dr. Ahn's first medical mission. He said, 'We are so blessed and privileged in this country and I felt that it is our responsibility to use the skills and resources that we have to provide relief and assistance to those that are suffering . . . The patients didn't have much and were so grateful for the care they received. It was truly a privilege to be able to provide the care that we did for the people of Ebeye.'
Assistant Secretary of Health, Irene Paul, said, 'Canvasback did 192 surgeries-that would have consumed our budget. Many of us could not afford to have that . . . There is no other word than to say thank you.'
EYEsee conducts workshop for student leaders of area schools in the northwest suburbs.
Friday, January 29, 2010
EYEsee held a planning workshop for student leaders of area schools in the northwest suburbs at Saint Viator High School on January 25, 2010. This workshop was a new initiative by EYEsee, and was part of the kick-off activities for the roll out of EYEsee's 2010 Annual Used Eyeglasses Campaign. What started this program were requests from several student leaders of surrounding elementary schools who wished to be involved with EYEsee's mission by holding their own collection drive in their school. Mrs. JoAnne Francis, Director of Student Affairs at Saint Viator High School, paved the way for this program to be started at Saint Viator after presenting the idea to elementary school principals during her November meeting and receiving their positive response.
Student leaders from five elementary schools and a high school, along with their teachers and parents, attended the two-hour workshop. EYEsee founder Janice Guzon led the presentations and discussions on EYEsee's mission, organization, partners and past and present activities. Founding member Hannah Tibbetts produced a video for this workshop that gave participants the 'experience' of medical missions to some of the poorest areas of the world and where EYEsee is making a real difference in the lives of the poor. Mr. Tom Nall, EYEsee moderator, offered the framework of EYEsee's mission and work. Participants received EYEsee's playbook on how to run a successful used eyeglasses collection drive at the end of the workshop.
EYEsee acknowledges the participation of the following schools to this workshop: St. James Elementary School, St. Emily Elementary School, St. Zachary Elementary School, St. Thomas of Villanova Elementary School, Our Lady of Wayside Elementary School and Stevenson High School.
EYEsee supports January 11-20, 2010 medical mission to Negros Occidental Island in the Philippines
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Dr. Jim Weyrich, Founder and President of EyeCare WeCare Foundation, Inc., reports on the foundation's January 11-20, 2010 medical mission to the remote village of Calumangan, Negros Occidental Island, Philippines. The foundation's 'Clinic on Wheels' reaches patients in rural Philippines.
In December 2009, the foundation received a grant from Transitions Health Sight for Life Fund. Heavy duty springs and a stiffer suspension was added to the bus along with new brakes. Now it can clear boulders in the road that it could not clear before the suspension upgrade. By bringing the clinic to the remotest Barangays, the people who benefited the most were those who never had a pair of eyeglasses. A total of 1,769 rural poor underserved people benefitted from this mission. Among them, 133 people received free eye medications and 74 people were referred for cataract and pterygium surgery. There were 10 different venues during this medical vision mission all over Negros Occidental, ranging from Silay City, Bago City to the Town of Villadolid. The foundation has now provided 11,088 people with free eyeglasses since its first vision mission in 2005.
One of the thousands of patients named Helen Tambanillo had a neighbor helped led her to the venue at Purok Riverside, Barangay Tabunan, Bago City. She has been blind all of her life. On January 11, 2010, her life changed when she arrived at the big blue bus of hope. She was found to be a (minus) 18.50 diopter myope. That means, without correction, she is over nine times legally blind. When the doctor put a pair of trial lenses on her, she did not want to give them back. She was assured that she didn't want the trial frames and lenses, and that she has to have her own. When she received her new glasses and her vision was restored, all she could do was to cry. She cried for over 2 hours, she had all the volunteers, all of the indigents in line and even our bus driver crying like babies. To watch and listen to her description on what she was seeing, you would have had to have been there to capture the entire moment.
During the very last day of the mission, near the very end of the line, was a very pretty high school senior that never had a pair of glasses, and she was found to be a (minus) 7.00 myope. This means that what a normal person sees at 700 feet, she has to get up to 20 feet to see. Her vision problem was not as bad as Helen had, but the pair of eyeglasses she received is going to make a huge impact on her life and her future as well.
These are just two of the 1,769 people who by themselves were worth of all the efforts of entire medical eye mission. There are another 1,767 stories that we cannot one by one tell anymore. These are people who cannot even afford the transportation expense to see an eye doctor, let alone pay for the eye examination and certainly for frames and lenses. There were many medications given and some would have cost upwards of $100 per bottle. That would be over two months of wages for a family of five or more. Over 200 bottles of eye medication were dispensed to people with eye infections, glaucoma, eye allergies and eye inflammations. There were 83 people who were referred for cataract surgeries which will be done later by our partner "Resources for the Blind, Inc."
The nine days of clinic were long and grueling, but you hear no complaints from any of the Filipino volunteers. Most of them have accompanied the foundation on all of its missions. They know how to unpack the bus, set up for registration, pre-testing and dispensing of the eyeglasses. They have witnessed the gratitude of the recipients of the free eye services.
I really want to thank EYEsee for your donation last year that enabled us to get new tires for the bus and also the eyeglasses that you collected. We welcome all the recycled glasses that you want to send. It is our lifeline. We value our partnership with your organization. May God bless each and every one of you.
Sincerely,
James H. Weyrich, O.D.
Founder & President
For additional info about EyeCare WeCare Foundation, Inc., visit www.eyecarewecare.org.
EYEsee sets to support medical mission to the Republic of Uganda in Spring 2010.
Friday, January 8, 2010
The following is a letter from Pam Blandchard and Sheri Jones, congregational nurses of Apples Chapel Christian Church in Gibsonville, North Carolina. Each year a team of healthcare professional and lay people from this church conducts a medical mission to the African country of Uganda. This year they have scheduled their medical mission in May, and EYEsee is supporting their mission.
The mission trip last year was coordinated through Christ Community Church in Greensboro, North Carolina. It was a medical mission trip and consisted of 12 people. We had 5 nurses, a pharmacist and some lay people. We provided 6 days of medical clinics treating various medical conditions such as malaria, arthritis, childhood ear infections, HIV, syphilis, pneumonia and tooth abscess. We sent 3 babies to the hospital the first day and know that these children would have died had it not been for our clinic. We saw 300 people the first day and close to 1,000 in the 6 days we had clinic. The orphanage we worked at was Good Shepherd's Fold in Jinja, Uganda.
Last year we were able to take about 30 glasses that were donated to us from a local Food Lion. They were magnifier reading glasses and were given out within the first 2 days. The one story that stands out in my mind the most is an older gentleman that came in with the chief complaint that couldn't read his Bible. We were able to give him a pair of the reader glasses and he was excited to be able to read his Bible again. Unfortunately there were many we had to send away still unable to see or read as we ran out of glasses. We had a few older glasses donated by church members but these were not useful. I had to turn away a young mother about 24 years old who was obviously nearsighted as she could not see far away when tested but we had no means to provide her with any glasses. These people walk several miles from their villages to come to these clinics and we want to be able to provide as much help as possible while we are there.
We would greatly appreciate any help you can provide us. I am enclosing some pictures from the trip of the orphanage, the missionaries and the people who went on the trip.
Sincerely,
Pam Blandchard, RN and Sheri Jones, RN
Congregational Nurses
Apples Chapel Christian Church
For additional info about Apples Chapel Christian Church, contact (336) 656-9853 or mail 7345 HWY 61 N, Gibsonville, NC 27249.
EYEsee supports June 8-14, 2009 medical mission to Negros Occidental Island in the Philippines
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Dr. Jim Weyrich, Founder and President of EyeCare WeCare Foundation, Inc. reports on the foundation's June 8-14, 2009 medical mission to the Philippines:All medical missions are a story in themselves. This medical mission was no exception. We started way back in January to get sponsoring organization and venues on Cebu Island. It took until mid March to get a commitment from the South Mandaue Rotary Club to participate in helping host this mission. Rotary International, which has helped in the past with medical missions by giving us a Volunteer Service Grant, informed us that because of the financial crisis, they were eliminating the program.
In mid May the bus mechanic informed me that the tires of our mobile clinic were way bad to make the trip. The brakes needed to be replaced, the transmission needed work and the air conditioning was not working. I was informed that we needed to order parts for the transmission from Japan. Mitsubishi could not give us a time for the transmission parts so I made the decision cancel the trip to Cebu, wait until the bus was up and running then try to find some venues near our province that we have never been to and conduct the missions to salvage the trip.
I arrived in the Philippines on June 1. We were not able to start our medical mission because we were still waiting on parts for the bus, so I took the opportunity to stay over a couple of days and meet with our new partner 'Resources for the Blind'. What a wonderful Christian organization. They are a perfect fit. I gave them all cataract supplies that I have procured from Alcon Labs, and they were delighted. They, in return, will do 39 cataract surgeries that I diagnosed with dense cataracts from this medical mission.
I flew to the Bacolod on June 4th. We received the bus parts on the 5th. The mechanics had already replaced the brakes. The transmission was fixed on the morning of the 6th. We then had to buy the tires in Bacolod and bring them to our barangay because the tires were so bad that we couldn't drive the bus at all. We got the tires and put them on by that afternoon. The bus was now ready to go.
We started our medical missions on the 8th, 9th, 11th, 13th and 14th. We still ended providing graded eyeglasses to 1,131 indigents. We gave out over 150 bottles of medications, and as I stated have 39 patients with cataracts that will get the surgeries free.
The miracle is that none of these people were supposed to even be seen. I didn't know that we were going to be there. I thought that we would be in Cebu. We had so many inspirational stories that it would take many pages to do it justice. All I know that this was definitely GOD'S MISSION. Just look at all the pieces of the puzzle that just didn't fit. Then when the missions began, they flowed very smoothly and over and over there were people that were really aided with their new glasses.
You had been an integral part in this mission. Thank you members of EYEsee, thank you Saint Viator High School, and thank you Father Egan.
For additional info about EyeCare WeCare Foundation, visitwww.eyecarewecare.org.
EYEsee donates eyeglasses to Rugari Parish in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
On July 6, 2009, EYEsee donated 500 pairs of recycled eyeglasses to Rugari Parish in the Democratic Republic of Congo. EYEsee's donations were received by Jackie Griffin who served for 15 months as ground representative for Saint Anne Parish in Barrington during the negotiation and building of a new primary school and dispensary in Goma,
Democratic Republic of Congo. Jackie Griffin recently returned from her mission in Goma. She agreed to coordinate the shipment of the eyeglasses with Caritas Goma by way of Rwanda to ensure that the eyeglasses arrived safely and securely because of the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Congo. The eyeglasses will be distributed through the Rugari Parish dispensary to those who are in need in the parish.In acknowledging EYEsee's donations, Jackie Griffin commented that, "eyeglasses are a big need in developing countries and Congo is no exception. I am excited to know we can use such a program to help our friends back there. I can't tell you how many people asked me for eyeglasses while I was there."
For additional info about Caritas Development Congo, visit http://www.caritasdev.cd/.
EYEsee supports June 2009 medical mission to Cumana, Venezuela.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
In June 2009, husband and wife team Wona and Doug Miniati, M.D., led a medical mission trip to Cumana, Venezuela. Dr. Miniati is a physician and an associate professor of surgery and pediatrics at the University of California San Francisco Medical Center.
At the conclusion of the Cumana medical mission, Wona reported to EYEsee: "...we gave away all but a handful of the glasses in just 2 days! They were overwhelmingly popular here. Word spread like wildfire that we were bringing eyeglasses, and people showed up in droves to try them on. It was so touching to see people's faces literally light up when they looked through a pair of glasses and could finally see! I'm sure you have seen that same joy and can appreciate how grateful people were."
For additional info about Caribbean Evangelical Missions, visit www.caribem.com.
EYEsee donates eyeglasses to EyeCare WeCare Foundation, Inc.
Monday, May 11, 2009
On May 9, 2009, EYEsee donated 2,500 pairs of used eyeglasses to EyeCare WeCare Foundation Inc. This non-profit, Christian, international organization is EYEsee's partner on medical missions to the poor in the remote islands in the Philippines. The foundation operates a mobile clinic ('Clinic on Wheels') manned by volunteers that provide free eye care, ophthalmic surgery, medication, and eyeglasses to the indigent people in the Philippines.EYEsee shipped two large container boxes directly to EyeCare We Care Foundation's mission outpost in the island of Negros Occidental in the Philippines. The donations were part of the total lot of eyeglasses collected by EYEsee during this years used eyeglasses campaign.
In acknowledging EYEsee's donations, Dr. Jim H. Weyrich, O.D., President and Founder of Eyecare WeCare Foundation, stated that "the foundation will use the donations to fund and supply medical vision missions for the rural poor in the Philippines. The foundation is scheduled to conduct another medical vision mission the first two weeks of June and the recycled eyeglasses that were shipped to the Philippines should arrive during the time that medical volunteers are there."
Dr. Weyrich thanked EYEsee's founder, Janice Guzon for the donations. He closed his letter with an acknowledgement that "EYEsee has been a great inspiration to all of us in our organization. To think that these are all high school students who have worked hours and hours to make a difference in helping others in developing nations. We have told the story of their commitment to individuals, organizations, and media in America and the Philippines. This has often brought tears."
For additional info about EyeCare WeCare Foundation, visit their website at www.eyecarewecare.org
EYEsee donates eyeglasses to Physicians for Peace.
Friday, May 8, 2009
On May 4, 2009, EYEsee donated 2,500 pairs of used eyeglasses to Physicians for Peace. This Christian, international, non-profit medical organization is EYEsee's partner to worldwide medical missions in over 50 countries.
EYEsee shipped the donations in four
container boxes to Physicians for Peace's headquarters in Norfolk,
Virginia. The donations were part of the total lot of
eyeglasses collected by EYEsee during this years used eyeglasses
campaign. In acknowledging EYEsee's donations, Kenneth R. Hudson, Gifts-In-Kind Manager, stated that the donated eyeglasses will be shipped to Haiti, Honduras, and the Philippines to support their 'Seeing Clearly' program to the indigents in those countries. Through this program, medical professional use sophisticated equipment to determine the prescription strength of donated eyeglasses and provide comprehensive eye exams to patients, who then receive either appropriate medical treatment or a pair of prescription glasses at no cost.
For additional info about Physicians for Peace, visit their website at www.physiciansforpeace.org/
EYEsee donates eyeglasses to Caribbean Evangelical Missions.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
On May 7, 2009, EYEsee donated over 100 pairs of used eyeglasses to Caribbean Evangelical Missions. This non-profit, Christian organization is EYEsee's partner with medical missions to the impoverished neighborhoods of the Caribbean countries, including South America, Central America, and the Caribbean islands.EYEsee shipped the donations to Caribbean Evangelical Missions' office in San Francisco, California. The donations were part of the total lot of eyeglasses collected by EYEsee during this year's used eyeglasses campaign.
Wona Miniati and her husband, Dr. Doug Miniati, M.D., will lead a medical mission trip to Cumana, Venezuela, in June 2009. Dr. Miniati is a physician and an associate professor of surgery and pediatrics at the University of California San Francisco Medical Center.
In acknowledging the donations, Wona Miniati, stated, "We are overwhelmed by the generosity of the supporters at Saint Viator High School as well as EYEsee, to make this venture possible. We know for certain that many people will be blessed to receive theses eyeglasses."
For additional info about Caribbean Evangelical Missions, visit their website at www.caribem.com.