Free eye-care services for residents in western Jamaica - Sandals Foundation, Great Shape iCare project to visit Jamaica for the fourth year

NEGRIL, Westmoreland:

Several communities in western Jamaica are to benefit from free eye-care services from October 8 to 12, 2012, as the Sandals Foundation partners with the Great Shape iCare project for the fourth year.

iCare clinics will operate from the Grange Hill Community Centre in Westmoreland and patients will have access to free eye chart tests, glasses, auto-refraction services, retinoscopy, eye surgery referrals, eye pathology tests, blood pressure, and blood sugar screening.

The iCare group, which comprises eye-care doctors, eye-care professionals and support staff from the United States and Canada has already reached more than 7,000 Jamaicans over the last three years and has distributed approximately 11,000 pairs of glasses. The team plans on donating an additional 16,000 pairs this year to persons in need.

Dr Steven Stern, iCare programme director, said 35 to 40 volunteers will be working to reach close to 2,000 patients during this five-day clinic.

"There is great need in Jamaica for eye care, glasses, and hypertension, and diabetes screening. In western Jamaica, there is no public health optometry, and this is our way of bridging that gap," he explained.

Grateful for support

"We are so grateful for the support and sponsorship of the Sandals Foundation and all our volunteers who make all of this work possible!" said Stern

The eyeglasses and supplies are donated through Great Shape! VOSH (Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity) and LERC (Lions Eyeglass Recycling Centre). The Sandals Foundation provides logistics support, accommodation, meals, and daily transportation to the various clinic sites. The Jamaican Ministry of Health provides the infrastructure and general support.

The team will make its second stop at the Eltham Community Centre in Ocho Rios from October 15 to 19 where residents will have access to the same services provided in Westmoreland.

Great Shape! Inc also conducts two other projects in Jamaica - 1000 Smiles and SuperKids - in partnership with the Sandals Foundation.

The 1000 Smiles project is the world's largest, international, humanitarian dental project that recently conducted a two-week dental clinic in September of this year at three locations in Hanover. SuperKids is aimed at improving literacy in local schools through reading, the provision of computers and training, art, music, and sports. The organisers plan to visit the western region in October and November of this year.