The Rotary Club of Havelock North in District 9930 New Zealand has partnered with the charity Eye Care for Africa to collect disused spectacles that can be repurposed and taken to Africa to assist vision impaired orphans improve their eyesight.

Article written by PDG Grant Spackman, Assistant Regional Rotary Foundation Coordinator with assistance from Rotary Havelock North member David Smith

Eye Care for Africa was founded in 2017 by local Optometrist Niall McCormack. Niall had visited Uganda volunteering to provide eye care to children at an orphanage where there are so many children in dire need of attention. He saw children with cataracts knowing that their lives would be vastly improved with appropriate eye care.

Now seven years later the building of an eye care centre in Tanzania is underway to service the needs of orphans in East Africa and give training to local providers. The facility is being paid for by funds raised by Niall’s epic walk from the top of New Zealand to the bottom – 3,000 kilometres on foot.

Two years ago the Rotary Club of Havelock North put out the call to Rotary Clubs in District 9930 and local organisations for used spectacles. The response resulted in 1500 pairs collected which all need to be checked, cleaned, measured and packed for despatch to the clinic in Tanzania. With the assistance of a District Grant from The Rotary Foundation, the Club has purchased an automatic lensmeter (focimeter) and an ultrasonic cleaner. 

The equipment has been installed in a dedicated workshop at the home of a Club member. All of the spectacles have been through the ultrasonic cleaning bath, a time consuming task as the water needed to be changed and reheated 70 times. The focimeter analyses and produces a prescription along with a printed report attached to each set of glasses which are then individually packaged.

The outcome of the project is that 1,500 Tanzanian children and adults will have their vision improved by having spectacles. For those that receive corrective eyeware it will have the impact of a better quality of life, the opportunity to gain literacy, assimilation into their community and better employment prospects.

Club members are continuing to collect spectacles and will take their equipment to the District 9930 conference in Cambridge in May, where they will have a dedicated area to promote the Eye Care for Africa project.