KUDOS |
SIGHT-SAVING OUTREACH PROGRAMS
Making a Difference You Can See Providing crucial eye care to underserved populations by Brooke Herron
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ccording to OneSight.org, 1 in 7 people worldwide lack access to vision care — and there are various reasons for this. For example, the nearest eye clinic may be too far away to visit; it could be too expensive; or there may be other barriers to care. We know that uncorrected visual errors and eye disease not only lower quality of life, but also can impact a person’s ability to earn an income. Meanwhile, school-aged children may encounter difficulties in learning due to poor vision. Combined, this creates a continuous cycle of disability-induced poverty. Thankfully, there is hope: OneSight is a non-profit organization that focuses its efforts to provide the solutions, people and resources to help resolve the vision crisis — permanently. To date, OneSight has brought eye exams, glasses and permanent vision centers to the most vulnerable places and
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populations. This includes 37 million people served in 53 countries thus far, thanks to support from donors, volunteers, partners and sponsors.
Volunteer spotlight: Helping others see Florida-based optometrist Ray Whetstone O.D., has been volunteering with OneSight since 2012. With nearly a decade of service, he has traveled with OneSight throughout the United States, Central and South America and Asia to help patients in underserved regions. “I did my first trip with them in 2012 to a Native American reservation in South Dakota,” shared Dr. Whetstone. “All in all, I have been on eight domestic trips and seven international trips, visiting countries including Mexico, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Peru and Thailand.”
| February 2021
Dr. Whetstone has a history of doing charitable work. Prior to volunteering with OneSight, he traveled to Honduras with a team of 70 medical professionals, which included medical doctors, optometrists, dentists, chiropractors, nurses and pharmacists. “We took over a school and set up a clinic … and as you can imagine, we did the whole thing,” he said. “We had tons of medical supplies that were donated by large companies,” said Dr. Whetstone, adding that at that time, the eyeglasses they used were recycled. It was a new experience for Dr. Whetstone in Honduras. There, he saw a pathology he had only read about in school, and experienced firsthand how a simple pair of spectacles could dramatically alter someone’s life. “Of course, I had my own personal experience of getting glasses in third grade … I had no idea how nearsighted
