Optical Prism May 2018 | Page 33

"They are such a great organization to work with. You always have to be careful that you're not doing more harm than good when you put yourself in these situations and this is something that is also a priority for Change for Children." “This was the most challenging day by far,” says Kolbenson. “When you're doing an eye exam with a child with special needs you already need to communicate differently and to add the language barrier onto that made things very difficult.” However, she says they were lucky to have fantastic translators. “Even though I was frustrated with my ability to communicate with the families and make the kids comfortable there were lots of children we got to help that day including two accommo- dative esotopes who could be fully corrected on the spot.” Before leaving on their trip, Kolbenson was busy collecting used glasses from the community to bring along. “We brought just under a thousand pairs of glasses and around 300 pairs of sunglasses,” says Kolbenson. “We were