Optometry Responds to Devastating Haiti Earthquake

Giving Sight to Earthquake Victims

Haitians Build Temporary Homes in Port-au-Prince UN Photo Sophia Paris.

Following the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti on January 12, Optometry Giving Sight launched an appeal to raise funds for some of the most vulnerable victims – those cannot see simply because they don’t have a pair of glasses.

Imagine trying to rebuild your life and care for your family with what little you have left. Now imagine doing that without the glasses that allow you to see clearly.

We urgently need your help.

Optometry Giving Sight is working with partner organizations including Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity (VOSH), the International Centre for Eyecare Education (ICEE) and the Caribbean Optometrists Association (CARIOA) to identify and fund projects that will provide emergency relief and assist in the reconstruction process through the establishment of sustainable vision care.

Even before the earthquake, access to vision care for most of Haiti’s population was limited. In the aftermath, Optometry Giving Sight is committed to funding sustainable, quality vision care services including the training of local eye care professionals and the establishment of Vision Centers.

Please donate now and help us give sight to people in desperate need.

Makeshift camp, Port au Prince, Haiti. Credit UN Photo/Marco Dormino

More about Haiti

An estimated 200,000 people lost their lives in the earthquake
The earthquake caused five times more deaths per million inhabitants than the second-ranking natural killer, the 1972 earthquake in Nicaragua.
(Source Inter-American Development Bank (IDB))
The preliminary IDB report estimates the damage at $US8-14 billion.
The poorest country in the western hemisphere
70% of people live on less than $2.20 per day
Over 4 million people are unemployed (half its population)
The earthquake was the worst in two centuries
The loss of life from earthquakes is typically 10 times higher in developing countries than the West and the damage can be up to 100 times worse (US Geological Survey)

In the event of a surplus arising from this appeal, any unspent funds will be directed by Optometry Giving Sight to programs which develop sustainable vision care for people around the world.