Where ever the need the opportunity is. It is an opportunity of sharing our resources and caring for others in a very tangible life changing way. We realize that there are many we can not help, like those with eye disease or other problems that corrective glasses can not assist with but there are many we can assist in seeing clearer again. Helping people help themself is the ultimate aim of this service If local volunteers can be trained to do this service and a supply of glasses maintained; it can be a ongoing service administered by members of the community for others members of the community.

What can I do?
If anyone would like to know more about these possibilities feel free to contact me . We love talking about the volunteer opportunities. Write Earle Illsley, 12 Glenlee Drive, Kentville, Nova Scotia, Canada, B4N 4Y5. Email: theillsleys@eastlink.ca.

Needle work:
Two old sisters came hobbling into the clinic in Nenton Guatemala. They had walked about an hour and had been waiting for a few hours. They smiled and sat down in the chairs in front of me. As I asked what the problem was they gestured that they could no longer do the fine embroidery that they did as a means of earning money. They looked like they were both in their eighties with very weathered faces and a smile that took up half of their face. Neither could read and we could not speak each others language they spoke in their Mayan dialect and we did not have anyone who could translate this dialect. It turns out that they could no longer thread the needles they used to do their fine work. I was able to find some needles and we started testing out glasses with these as our test instruments. One lady tried on a pair held the needle up in front of her and threaded the needle a huge smile came over her face and as she turned to her sister they both smiled and you could sense the joy. They both received glasses that day and as they were about to leave the clinic they both came up to me and gave me a big hug. I was thinking if only the donors of those glasses could see what joy they had brought to these two great women.

Two Sisters.

Children in school:
As a teenager came rolling up in her wheelchair we greeted her as a friend. We had come to know her over the couple of weeks and it was now time for her to be tested for glasses. She was one of those children who made things a little brighter by her presence. She lived in a school for the physically disabled in Kenya. Although not able to speak very clearly and confined to her chair she was always making notes in a little book. She had a problem seeing the board and so she was fitted with glasses and her smile became even larger than normal. For many children if they do not get corrective glasses their chances in school will suffer. Children may even drop out of school if they can not read the board and it is not seen as a vision problem but as an inability to learn. Since glasses are not ready available and vision not tested many children have missed out on a education due to the lack of a inexpensive pair of glasses.

School child.

Truck driver:
From time to time we find out what individuals do for a living as we are testing their vision. This gentleman came in and could not see the top e on the chart after fitting him with a pair of used glasses he could now see things that he did not even know existed. Again a smile came over his face. We asked him what he did. He said he was a truck driver. It was scary knowing that he had been driving a large truck on those winding mountain road and realising what he could not see. The roads are much safer because of someone has donated a used pair of glasses

An old man coming in a wheelbarrow:
I looked out across the school yard of the school we were using in Guatemala and saw a young man wheeling his father in a old wheelbarrow across the compound. As he helped this man out of the wheelbarrow, I was wondering what was I going to be able to do to help. We had a nice talk about what a great day it was and then down to business. After some trial and error we were able to find a pair of glasses and some sun glasses for the man. He and his son were so excited. After saying goodby, I turned to put away some glasses and turning again looked out into the court yard to see the old man walking unassisted with the son wheeling an empty wheelbarrow. The old man was looking around with a new sense of wonder at the things he had not seen for a long time. Someone's old glasses has given this man a new sight on life.