After that success, in 2015, I was contacted by a London
church that had built a children's centre in Chipagala,
Malawi. They had a need for eyecare in that area too and
asked if I would be willing to be part of their outreach in
2016. I agreed and recruited another optician, Bryan Todd
from Sudbury, to join us. Although a permanent clinic
wasn't an option for these communities, Plastic Plus do-
nated and equipped us with two handheld auto-refractors
so we could be mobile. Also, through several generous
donations, we took with us over 2,000 brand new pairs of
glasses. Each day, Bryan and I, with the help of two assis-
tants, saw over 100 patients. By the end of our three-week
trip, we had assessed and fitted 946 patients.
Q. Do any specific encounters/experiences from your
trips really stand out in your mind?
A. In the Dominican Republic, I saw my first patient with
Acanthamoeba. I was able to refer him to the clinic's pri-
mary physician. Unfortunately, the physician came back
not knowing what was wrong with the patient's eye and
needed me to advise on a treatment course. Thank goodness
for modern technology where I was able to get my phone
and text an OD and MD in Canada to guide us all through
it. It makes me very sad to know, even when medical care is
available in a developing world, it's still substandard.
There was also a lovely lady who was recovering from a
stroke and needed reading glasses to go back to work as a
seamstress. Just before I left, a fellow optician gave me a
new pair of reading glasses. His mother had just passed
away and he wanted her new glasses to help someone else.
They were the right RX and when the lady put them on,
the first thing she did was open her bible to bless us for the
gift to her.
In Malawi, there was a four-year-old boy who was the only
child to arrive with not just one parent but both. They
believed he was blind as both eyes wandered. But with an
assessment, he needed a -3.00 RX. We fitted him with
glasses and for the first time, he saw his mother.
It was magical.
Q. Tell us about your upcoming trip.
A. A new Team Licensed Optician is being formed to partner
with PAN missions and be a sub-group of their medical
outreach. Right now, we have two opticians, one intern
optician and one optical assistant ready to go and serve.
Once again, we have an opportunity to equip a permanent
clinic and train the local staff in addition to doing onsite
clinics in remote villages.
C an ad ian C e rti fi e d
O ptO me t r iC ass i s ta nt
( CCOa ) prOg r am
The staff you’ve
always wanted
already work
for you.
Invest in your staff –
improve your practice.
Our new and improved Canadian Certified
Optometric Assistant (CCOA) online distance
education program gives optometric assistants
the skills and knowledge they need to contribute
to a thriving optometric practice.
New session begins September 15.
earlybird registration July 5 - august 18
$1500
Registration August 21 - September 9
$1875
Learn more at www.opto.ca/ccoa
36 Optical Prism | July 2017