Volunteering Abroad
Access to eye care in developing countries is critically lacking, so U.S. ophthalmologists are stepping up to participate in medical missions that provide free services to indigent communities around the world. Three Medical Eye Center surgeons have traveled far and wide to perform cataract and other eye surgeries, choosing to donate their time because their efforts have such a significant impact.
The statistics are impressive. In the next 20 years the number of blind people in the world is expected to double, with 90% living in developing countries. The impact of blindness is profound—the costs of losing a productive member of the community are compounded by the costs of caring for them—contributing to the vicious circle of poverty. Four out of five of these cases are treatable, however, and because doctors volunteer their time, supplies are donated and foreign exchange rates are leveraged, successful cataract surgeries are being made available to the desperately poor people of Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America.
Click on the links to the right to learn about our doctors’ efforts abroad.
How You Can Help
All the charitable organizations mentioned in this section welcome donations. The money raised goes primarily to supplies, as doctors and other volunteers cover their own travel costs.
For More Information
Surgical Eye Expeditions International (SEE)
Himalayan Cataract Project (HCP)