BY JENNY HARNET

Earlier this month, OneSight partnered with The Salvation Army to bring quality vision care to Christchurch and Wellington in New Zealand.  The Christchurch area and surrounding community is still recovering from the devastating 2011 earthquake as well as the recent traumatic shooting that took place in the area last month. Many patients in this area face challenges such as homelessness and mental illness as a result of these disasters. The Wellington community also faced many different challenges.  Many patients in this area are of the refugee population, and others are single mothers who have endured great trauma.

From April 8 – 12, we held our NZ clinic at four different Salvation Army Ministries. In just 5 days, we delivered 528 eye tests, and dispensed 427 pairs of glasses to local patients. 48% of the glasses were able to be dispensed on the same day thanks to Ready to Clip product, and the remaining 52% will be manufactured using 2.5 New Vision Generation product provided by Essilor Vision Foundation and will be dispensed to patients within the month.

This clinic proved to be both emotional, but also extremely heartening. We’re  eager to continue our work in New Zealand, ensuring that everyone has access to quality vision care no matter their background or financial status.

A basic eye test in NZ costs $85 without glasses – a price that many in this community  simply cannot afford. The people in these two communities face enough daily challenges, and we believe that access to quality vision care shouldn’t have to be one of them. Join us in our goal to #HelpNewZealandSee with a donation of $30.