Jose da Costa
Jose da Costa thought he was blind, and he was – his uncorrected refractive error rendered him functionally blind. Fifteen years ago Jose had a cataract operation and was left aphakic, with his strongly powered glasses Jose’s vision was dramatically improved and his quality of life was significantly better, at least for a few years.
But then disaster struck and the ex-teacher’s glasses broke. Living in East Timor at this time there was no way for him to purchase new glasses and so for several years he lived as a blind man.
Andrew Koch, an Australian ProVision volunteer optometrist diagnosed Jose as +12.00 D at the end of 2007. Andrew explained, “the highest prescription we had with us was +6.00 D and when I gave them to Jose he just beamed up at me. He didn’t expect us to be able to help him but even with that pair, being able to see a small amount he was overwhelmed”.
When Andrew returned to Australia he ordered a custom made pair of +12.00 D glasses for Jose. Thanks to Oakley’s donated frames and Essilor’s donated lenses the glasses were made and, in January 2008, Michael Knipe, another volunteer optometrist and Chairman of ProVision, took them with him and delivered them to Jose.
Andrew added, “Knowing that Jose has been needlessly blind for years is hard – all he needed was a new pair of glasses. But that’s why I, and my fellow volunteers, go to East Timor – I love being there and giving sight to people who desperately need it. It’s incredible to really make a difference”.
To find out more about the Giving Sight in East Timor Project click here.
