VOSH-Illinois Collaborates With ICF
to Provide Medical Services in Baja California Sur

A group of 24 volunteers comprised of six optometrists, two opticians, one dentist and trained laypersons from VOSH-Illinois (Volunteers for Optometric Services to Humanity-Illinois Chapter) and the Rotary Club of Oak Lawn, Illinois working in conjunction with ICF and DIF of Loreto and Fundación Deborah Wayne in San Ignacio provided free eye and dental care to over 1200 people in the towns of Loreto and San Ignacio, Baja California Mexico from Jan 12-22, 2006. The primary mission of VOSH is to facilitate the provision of vision care worldwide to people who can neither afford nor obtain such care. This fits in precisely with the goals of ICF, which helped to facilitate and fund a portion of the trip.

The need for all of these services is overwhelming. Working together with local governmental and social services and the local residents allowed everyone who desired, to contribute to the welfare of the community. The VOSH-Illinois team, under the leadership of optometrists Dr. Sandra Bury and Dr. Keith Hedrick and dentist, Dr. Terry Bartolini, brought everything they needed to treat the patients, including expensive and fragile equipment and over 10,000 pairs of glasses to donate and dispense. Additionally, Dr. Bartolini donated a dental clinic to the municipality of Loreto to encourage the town to be self sufficient in this regard. In return, the municipalities advertised the services of the doctors to the local community, reaching out particularly to the rural areas, and attracted local residents, many of whom had never seen a dentist or eye specialist before. DIF-Loreto and San Ignacio-based Fundación Deborah Wayne helped to register and organize the approximately 200-plus patients a day. Members of the local community also became involved by providing critical translation services, organizational efforts, lunch for the volunteers and assistance in numerous other invaluable ways.

The response of the people

Men, women and children of all ages took advantage of the services provided by VOSH. Women left with a smile after being able to see the expressions on the faces of their loved ones for the very first time. An eight year old girl who could hardly see came in with her classmates. She was dressed a bit differently, not really part of the crowd, and was somewhat uncooperative during testing. However, her face lit up with a sweet smile after she was fitted with glasses, and her wave to her classmates seemed to signal the beginning of a whole new life and the possibility of continuing her education. The first question she asked after her exam was "how do you say 'thank you' in English?" There were also frequent complaints of teary, watery, burning eyes as many had a condition called apterygial, which is a blood vessel growth impinging at the peripheral edge of the cornea, sometimes to the point of reducing vision. Their apterygial was solved with the simple and inexpensive remedy of using eye drops to bring relief. And a 45-year-old mother of 4 who takes in sewing to earn money but could no longer see her stitches was able to get her first pair of reading glasses, which will allow her to continue to support her family.

There are many ways to help our neighbors—both financially and physically. Both ways are admirable. Both are rewarding. But neither can be successful without a coordinated and joint effort of different people working together. It takes all of us giving in whatever way we can to better this world.

For more information, please email Natalie Venezia, the coordinator of the VOSH trip to Loreto and San Ignacio, at ncvenezia@yahoo.com. To learn more about Fundación Deborah Wayne, visit www.icf-xchange.org.