All The Preparing and Support

It’s hard to believe that in just four days we are leaving. For the last 5 months, I have been calling, asking and collecting donations and supplies.

It started in the spring, working on my deck, sorting frames that would be taken to Paul Fabish and his team at Plastics Plus for lenses. Others were shipped to Corey and Chris and the team at CPS360 in London. They have done so much work to get us close to 1000 brand new pairs of glasses.



Donations from Ronor, Ronit Furst, Prism gave us a great selection to get started.
Packages from Rachel at Personal Optical in St Catherines and Deborah of Optika Electica in Saskatoon arrived
Mary and I spent several hours sorting and labeling as the completed glasses arrive. We even spent a beautiful Thanksgiving with Mary’s family chipping in as volunteer labour, learning more than they ever wanted to know about glasses, prescriptions and the work that goes into these projects.
 
 
 Even Toby, my pet fink, thought he could be "helpful"
In September, we had 2 Trivia Night fundraisers in West Lorne and London. They were awesome nights of knowledge and fun that gave us over $3000 towards supplies.

Frank Suen and The Frame Barn team outfitted us with repair and tool supplies and worked at getting us reading glasses.
Dr Wes McCann at Central and Upper Richmond Optometry graciously gave us an autorefractor so that we can equip the clinic in Nicaragua.
Mary Krebs has put so much work into this project. An optometric assistant that went back to school this year to become a Licensed Optician, I’m so glad she is part of my team.
We got to meet Melvin in June. He is the pastor and host in El Salvador. He was very excited to that we were coming. Every time there is a medical team, they have been asked if eye checks and glasses would be available. This is the first time he could say 'SI!'
Mabel Prempeh is a new graduate who just wrote her National Exams a few weeks ago.
She agreed to travel with our team only meeting me once 2 weeks before she wrote the exams. She is very brave and trusting. Mabel said that she had investigated other opportunities but after talking to me she just knew this was the right team to be a part of. That is probably one of the best compliments someone can give you.
Just 2 weeks ago our whole team of 14 got together early in the morning to pack and weigh all of our luggage. Medical supplies, glasses, soccer equipment, school supplies were all carefully organized and weighed. Two hours later we were ready.

We are still scrambling for reading glasses but with the generous donations, we will be able to buy them and pack them at the airport. But we are grateful for the fantastic donation of these suitcases from New St James Presbyterian Church. Lightweight, perfect size and really easy to spot on the luggage carousel!
We will be bringing them back so they can be used for the next trip to Malawi.
I think we’re ready. Also, I owe a significant amount of Gratitude to the Ontario Opticians Association and the Optician Association of Canada who fund us and connect us and send out TEAM LICENSED OPTICIAN.
It’s a blessing to be a part of this professional community.

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