Mission for Vision, featured last year in Shepperton Matters, was founded by Ian Squire in 2003 as a means to improving the lives of those living in the poorest regions in the developing world. Every year he assembles teams to travel to remote areas to carry out clinics and provide glasses, medication and cataract operations.
Old glasses are collected from customers in the practice and are recycled to be used on the missions. Ian has also developed a portable frame and lens system which enables the correction of complex refractive error in areas where there are no optical facilities.
Dave Good from Shepperton Aurora Rotary came up with the idea to create a collecting box where people could leave old spectacles. Greeno’s Men in Sheds have made the box for Rotary which has now been installed in Budgens supermarket in Shepperton High Street.
So far Mission for Vision has worked in Uganda, Ghana, Guatemala, Burundi and Mozambique, DR Congo and Nigeria.
Mike Gicquel President of Shepperton Aurora Rotary said “We are delighted that Shepperton Aurora Rotary has been able to co-ordinate this joint project with several local organisations to support this local Charity “
If you have any old glasses that you don’t know what to do with, take them down to Budgens and you will know you are helping someone to see. What could be better?