We Canadians are a generous bunch. We want to help. And given the expense of prescription eyeglasses and how necessary they are for many of us to see, it’s natural that if we have an old pair, we want to donate them to be passed on to someone in need.

Providing eyeglasses to those in need is still vital to our approach. Here’s how we do it. Every Indian and African hospital we work with ensures that each patient who needs glasses gets comfortable, modern, NEW prescription glasses.

Those who can’t afford the cost (the equivalent of $2 to $4 in most locations) have those costs subsidized by local customers who can afford to pay for more expensive frames.

Some people may think “Used eyeglasses are still useful! Why don’t you try and use them?” In addition to the difficulty of matching used eyeglasses, there are also compelling economic reasons. It’s actually less expensive for us to buy locally-made eyeglasses for distribution in the countries where we work, than to collect, sort and ship used eyeglasses overseas. In fact, India no longer allows used eyeglasses into the country, as they interfere with their own eyeglasses industry.

So please, don’t leave your used eyeglasses at our door. We appreciate your generosity, but we can’t use them. And if you’d like to help in another way, please consider clicking here to donate $20, which can provide new, custom-fitted prescription eyeglasses for up to three people in Africa or India. Imagine their happiness at being able to see clearly!

Here’s something that may surprise you: having limited vision is almost as bad as being completely blind.

Think about it. If all you see are dim shapes, you’re not going to be able to get around easily, work or take care of yourself. And like blindness, low vision or visual impairment is a big problem in the developing world.

“Uncorrected refractive error” is the technical term for what we understand as the need for glasses. It has been estimated that as many as 200 to 300 million people, mostly in poor countries, stumble through life simply because they can’t afford an eye exam or glasses.

And they’re cheap! In India, an exam and eye glasses for a child can cost as little as $5.

Uncorrected refractive error is an unnecessary disability that has a major impact on people's lives and causes profound economic disadvantages to individuals, their families and societies. People living with uncorrected vision impairment are more likely to be excluded from basic education, suffer from isolation and have fewer employment opportunities. 

The link between poverty and avoidable blindness is indisputable.

Here in Canada one hardly gives a thought to this issue, as eye exams and glasses are readily available even to low income families. But in developing countries, eye exams and affordable eye glasses are a scarce commodity.

Sadly, there are many instances where schools for the blind are populated by children who simply need a pair of prescription lens in order to see. Their lives and futures severely limited by the lack of resources and opportunity.

Many temporary solutions have been put forward in the absence of proper exams and eyeglass prescriptions, such as used eyeglasses, adjustable lens and dispensing “readers” or magnifying glasses as an entrepreneurial venture.

However none of them are as effective as a proper eye exam and the proper prescription lens. Here’s why: everyone needs a proper eye exam to accurately diagnose the cause of the vision impairment, which may be simply the need for glasses but could also be developing diseases that can cause permanent blindness if left untreated.

There are other considerations around this topic. Watch for Part 2 a few weeks from now when I’ll be writing about used eyeglasses.