I am really excited to be travelling to Ghana in August as a volunteer for Vision Aid Overseas. I will travel with a team of volunteer eyecare professionals to work at the University of Science and Technology in Kumasi to provide essential training to students in order for them to provide much needed eyecare services to their wider communities.

The most common cause of visual impairment worldwide is uncorrected refractive error. Refractive error is a common eye condition where the eye cannot focus clearly resulting in blurred vision, which can sometimes be severe enough to cause visual impairment. All that is needed to treat refractive error is a simple pair of spectacles! There are 670 million people - 10% of the world's population – who live with visual impairment and are disadvantaged by poor vision due to a lack of spectacles. These people risk being unable to work, get an education and care for their families because their sight is't good enough; they stay living in poverty.

Vision Aid Overseas is an international charity dedicated to fighting poverty by transforming access to eye care in developing countries. VAO utilises the professional skills of optical volunteers to provide vision services in rural communities, and to train local health care workers and establish Vision Centres, thus providing a sustainable solution for the huge number of people whose vision is uncorrected. For more information visit www.visionaidoverseas.org.

Since the charity was founded 28 years ago, it has helped over 1 million people to see in countries such as Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Sierra Leone, Uganda and Zambia. 

Donations from fundraising are vital for the charity to continue its operations overseas.

£5 can pay for Vision Aid Overseas to provide an eye examination and a pair of glasses

£10 can pay for the raw materials needed to manufacture three pairs of glasses at a Vision Centre

£22 can pay for a day’s training for an eye care worker – giving them the skills needed to provide a service in their community all year round

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.