This week’s guest speaker was Niall McCormack who spoke to the club by Zoom about his work with Eye Care for Africa, and how we can help.Eye Care for Africa was founded in 2017 by Hasting’s optometrist Niall McCormack.
It was formed to provide real eye care to some of the most marginalised groups in the countries of Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Kenya.
Niall was astonished at the level of need there where he saw children with conditions such as cataracts whose eyesight was in desperate need of appropriate attention. Eye Care for Africa is working with organisations and teams to help train staff and give these children the best possible eye care solutions and become more sustainable. It also would like to provide equipment to enable local people to continue the services.Eye care for Africa provides a scholarship for local Hawkes Bay Students to experience their work.
The Rotary Club of Havelock North is partnering with Eye Care for Africa to collect disused spectacles that can be repurposed to assist vision-impaired African orphans improve their vision. The goal is to collect 1,000 pairs of used spectacles by 30 June 2022.
He suggested we talk to contacts, family, and friends, many of whom will have disused glasses just waiting for a new home. Please forward those glasses to Brian Burroughs, for now, who will collect them and passed on to Niall.
Brian Burrough’s (Stortford Lodge) contact details – 027 4469964, brian.burrough@ruralequities.co.nz