Pinders Opticians - Vision Aid

Vision Aid

Pinders Opticians have been supporting Vision Aid Overseas for many years, but what is Vision Aid Overseas and what do they do?

Vision Aid Overseas works to ensure that everyone, regardless of their gender, economical status or geographical location, has access to affordable eye care services and spectacles. They are currently working in five countries across Africa to establish and deliver their own sustainable eye care services. These areas are Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Sierra Leone and Zambia. Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians from all over the UK volunteer to visit these countries on behalf of Vision Aid to work through outreach programmes. For people living in very remote communities outreach services can be their only hope of improving poor eye sight. 80% of a child’s learning is processed through the visual system, however 12 million children worldwide struggle to learn simply because they do not have spectacles.

As they are the future of these countries it is important to set them on the road to learning as soon as possible. Alongside the outreach project, Vision Aid is also involved in training healthcare professionals in these countries in order for them to become self-sufficient in delivering quality eye care services. You may not be an Optometrist or Dispensing Optician but you can still help in many ways. The easiest way to help is by donating old spectacles. These can be dropped in to any Pinders branch. Vision Aid Overseas recycle metal frames for their precious metal content and plastic frames are also recycled. Any vintage or retro spectacles donated are sold via an EBay Shop or to specialist buyers. The income generated through recycling process enables Vision Aid Overseas to deliver sustainable eye care services in their partner countries.

For more information visit Vision Aid Overseas website.