Niall advised that working in communities such as he did was a fantastic experience, noting that so many walked for miles to have an opportunity to go to the clinic. Cataracts have improved so much over the last few years, ensuring that a patient’s sight is properly identified and proper eyesight tests are made. An orphanage was set up to help kids with eyesight issues. There needs to be an awareness of Myopia issues as children today have similar issues. Currently, Niall is considering going to Uganda – where the whole country has no eye care support and massive vision issues. Getting the proper treatment changes the lives of the natives. Myopia is increasing in New Zealand today and the increase is blamed on the instances of too much screen watching. Niall has talked to primary school children in New Zealand to develop relationships in this country with the communities in Nairobi.
As part of the charity in Hawkes Bay, a lady has won a scholarship to go to a Nairobi School. Examples of great generosity such as the retired who sold their house and the funds went to a Charity Hospital. Niall spoke of one of the most amazing days of his career in Serengeti – where he worked hard all day and at the end of the day the natives danced with thanks for his care. He showed photos taken in Africa at a school where New Zealanders were teaching morals, good focus, education benefits. It was lovely to see the reaction from children who have never seen a white person before. His charity group also arranged for food to be delivered to locals. Given the large number of orphans in South Africa, the emphasis is on the orphans but demands also come from other situations. Hawkes Bay people are willing to support the growing demand for support. Generally, Niall and his team see that most of the defects are similar, but if they are given the opportunity to support them, they are willing to accept the responsibility. He invited anyone to give glasses which are no longer necessary, to the Charity.
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. Eye Care for Africa was founded in 2017 by Hawkes Bay based Optometrist Niall McCormack. It was formed to provide real eye care to some of the most
marginalized groups in the countries of Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Kenya. It all began when Niall accepted an invitation to provide eye care to an orphanage in Uganda. Whilst there the dire level of eye care need became
very apparent. Life is hard enough if your one of the 54 million plus orphan children in Africa … imagine if you were vision impaired. There are over 200 orphanages in Uganda alone. There are so many children whose eyesight is in dire need of appropriate attention, children with conditions such as cataracts. Eye Care for Africa is working with these orphanages and other organisations with teams at ground zero to help train staff and give these children the best possible eye care
solutions. Many children can be assisted with disused spectacles, that can be repurposed for their needs at minimal cost. ‘Eye Care for Africa’ is an official charity registered with the NZ Charities Commission.
Eye Care for Africa aims to:
- Service the eye care of children in East Africa who live in various orphanages
- Provide local training to enable eye care to become more sustainable
- Provide equipment to enable local people to continue the services
- Provide a scholarship for a local Hawkes Bay student to experience Eye Care for Africa work
The Foundation and International committee has decided to support Niall with a project to collect 1000 disused spectacles by 30 June 2022. Please talk to contacts, family and friends, many of whom will have disused glasses sitting in drawers. Bring these glasses to Rotary meetings where they will be collected and passed on to Niall.