PUTTING Optometry Giving Sight FUNDS TO WORK
Kristie L. Madara, CIBA Vision and Optometry Giving Sight Corporate Fellow
In December 2005, the contact lens manufacturer CIBA Vision became the first corporation to partner with Optometry Giving Sight globally. As Founding Global Corporate Patron, CIBA Vision has committed US$1 million over 5 years. It has also agreed to fund a full-time CIBA Vision employee in the role of Corporate Fellow to assist the global development and expansion of the program.
I took on the Fellowship role at the beginning of 2006 and witnessed the impact Optometry Giving Sight funding can have when I visited an Optometry Giving Sight-funded project. One of the first things that struck me about Sri Lanka was the desperate need throughout the country for quality health care – including vision care – even without the devastating affects of the tsunami.
People walked miles in the heat and stood in line for hours to get a simple eye exam. For many, it was the first they had had in their lives. Clearly they understood the value of good vision and would go to great lengths to get it. We saw people of all ages and whether it was to read the chalkboard more easily at school, or to be able to work or cook or farm, it was immediately clear that the vision care that we sometimes take for granted was a luxury to the people of Sri Lanka.
People walked miles in the heat and stood in line for hours to get a simple eye exam.
I visited several tea plantations in Sri Lanka to discuss plans to provide eye care clinics for the tens of thousands of tea workers in the country. Tea is a cornerstone of the Sri Lankan economy and a major export. It is picked by women who, for a little over $1 a day, do backbreaking work along the sides of steep mountains. Their vision is truly their livelihood. I certainly have a greater appreciation for my morning cup of tea. Optometry Giving Sight contributions will go a long way toward providing much needed services to this population.
For Optometry Giving Sight, Sri Lanka is just the beginning. There are many more regions of the world that desperately need eye care services. It is very rewarding to see the many countries that are joining in support of Optometry Giving Sight through their optometric associations and other committed eye care professionals to address this need.
My role continues to be working with these groups around the world to expand Optometry Giving Sight’s reach and its opportunities to raise funds. I will also continue to work to ensure that CIBA Vision’s sales and marketing teams in more than 35 countries take an active role in outreach to our customers – eye care professionals - and their patients.
As the cornerstone of CIBA Vision’s community efforts globally, we have the opportunity to partner with Optometry Giving Sight to promote their mission and to harness the power of our more than 6,000 employees to make a significant impact on this global problem.
