All Photos The primary mission of VOSH/International is to facilitate the provision of vision care worldwide to people who can neither afford nor obtain such care. In 2001, we partnered with WHO and pledged to eliminate preventable blindness by the year 2020. The need for eyecare in underdeveloped nations, where wages may be less than $1.00 a day, is overwhelming. Our objective is to improve people's vision so they can be more productive and enjoy a better quality of life. We are committed to this task.

Focus Areas:

Children, Disaster Relief, Education, Health

Countries Served:

All 39 countries: Albania Armenia American Samoa Bosnia and Herzegovina Bolivia Belize Chile Colombia Cuba Dominican Republic Ecuador Grenada Ghana Guatemala Guyana Honduras Haiti India Jamaica Kenya Mongolia Mexico Nigeria Nicaragua Nepal Panama Peru Philippines Poland Puerto Rico Paraguay Romania El Salvador Thailand Turkey Tanzania, United Republic of Ukraine Venezuela Viet Nam   Summary by region: Europe Asia Australia & Oceania Latin America & Caribbean Africa

Description of Services:
The duties of VOSH/International to its 32 regional and 22 optometry school chapters includes representation, intercommunication, development and expansion, documentation, publicity, recruitment, promotion, legal advise, rapid reponse to disasters and assistance to missions.
History:
We are optometrists, opticians, ophthalmologists, medical personnel and trained lay persons who have no political or religious agenda. Yet, we work with tolerant religious organizations, government agencies and service organizations. VOSH/International is the voice of 32 chapters and 22 student chapters in the United States, Canada, Honduras, India, Africa and the Netherlands. Volunteers pay their own way. For the last 30 years we have functioned without a payroll. Our only compensation is the satisfaction of helping others. Many volunteers return year after year.
Accomplishments & Progress:
In 2004, we completed more than 90 missions serving over 125,000 people. In addition, VOSH has helped establish permanent eye clinics in Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Haiti and Mexico. Our programs provide recycled eyeglasses, treat eye disease and perform eye surgery. We also set up clinics in disaster areas, as in Bosnia following a war, in El Salvador following an earthquake and in Honduras and Dominican Republic following a hurricane. VOSH was one of the first relief organizations to arrive in Albania after the fall of Hoxha. Chapters provide relief to victims of Hurricane Katrina and the tsunami. Presently, VOSH/International is collecting instruments and books for two schools of optometry in Ghana.