Glasses Distribution 7/19

An American organization, Eyes on Africa, donated a giant box of reading glasses and toothbrushes to be given out in my community. People in my village have been complaining of eye trouble for quite some time. You can imagine that most of these Cameroonians sit over cooking fires all day long, filling their eyes with smoke, and often don’t have lights and must read in the dark, and generally have lifestyles that cause eye strain. Most older people in village have difficulty seeing but have no access to glasses or eye care.

Before giving out the goodies, I did some general education on oral hygiene and eye care. I taught people how to properly use their glasses and how to brush their teeth. With the lesson out of the way, I began to have people step up to the table and try on different glasses to find the right magnification strength. It was wonderful to see people’s faces light up as they found the correct pair for their eyes and could finally see the words on the page. They would try on the weaker pair and still squint at the page of paper, unable to read, but would eventually try on the right pair and their face would glow. They broke out into huge smiles and then would just be in disbelief. They all wanted to just sit and read the entire page we were using as a tester because they were so happy they could read it. They were so incredibly grateful. I was probably blessed a hundred times. They would give me giant hugs, they would clap, one woman even broke out dancing. They were so happy. In all, we gave out 176 pairs of glasses, but there are still more people who need them. It was a great start, and I’m hoping to hold another session. It was a wonderful experience.

The best part of it though was working with a local woman who had made glasses cases for the event. She is a widow who is currently struggling to support her family. Her daughter has epilepsy and needs medications, which are hard to buy. The daughter has a severe case and is unable to work or contribute to the family’s income. The daughter also has a young son that the mother must support. As a 57 year old farmer, she is able to provide food, but she has been having a hard time proving other things. I suggested that she make cases for the event as an income generating activity. We were giving out the glasses for free, so people should be able to afford to buy a case. This woman worked hard to hand make over one hundred cases. The day of the event, they sold out. The woman came back at the end of the day to collect the money (as I had been selling the cases for her), and I told her how much she made. The equivalent of over 100 US dollars. She nearly fell off her feet! She was in total disbelief. She almost started crying. She gave me a big hug and told me, “Thank you. May God bless you and may you have a long life. You are so helpful to me.”