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Chimbote,
Peru June 2007
Nineteen hard working
volunteers enjoyed a fun,
productive, and memorable
visit to Chimbote, Peru.
The majority left
Minneapolis/St. Paul
International Airport June
10th in the early morning and
arrived in Lima after a lay
over in Newark, New
Jersey. In Lima we met
up with other fellow Voshers
who had flown in from Colorado
and Mexico.
We boarded a bus on Monday the
11th and drove about seven to
eight hours north along the
Pacific Coast. We
enjoyed a landscape so
incredibly arid it resembles a
lunar landscape. Upon arriving
in Chimbote our noses were
assaulted by the smell of fish
processing plants. To
the Chimbotans it is the smell
of money, for us it was like
opening my teenager’s
forgotten gym bag. Our
hosts for the trip were the
wonderful members of the
parish “Our Lady of
Perpetual Sorrows” located
in one of the poorest
neighborhoods of
Chimbote. We set up our
gear and saw approximately
1400 people in four
days. We were able to
give out many pairs of
glasses, identify patients who
needed immediate more involved
eye care, and identify and
create a list of those
who needed cataract surgery
and/or pterygium surgery
The volunteers worked very
hard and received many
emotional thank yous, hugs,
and kisses of deep
appreciation. Typically
we started at 8 each day with
a break for lunch and ended
about 5:30 each evening.
After supper we had an
opportunity to take a tour of
the parish ministries and
different neighborhoods, go
out dancing, and climb a small
mountain outside of
town. At the end of our
stay we were given a wonderful
party by the parish to thank
us for our efforts.
Many of us boarded a bus
Friday evening for a night
trip back to Lima and boarded
a plane to Cusco Saturday
afternoon for a nice break and
wonderful sightseeing in the
heart of the Inca
Empire. I would like to
take a group back to Peru in
2009 and look forward to
seeing more of this wonderful
country. Look for future
information in 2008.
Greg
J Friederichs, O.D.
View Chimbote
2007 Pictures Here
Jamaica,
March 2007
A joint
mission of VOSH Minnesota and
VOSH South Dakota to
Jamaica, took place on March
5,6 &7 of 2007.
They were hosted by the local
Rotarian Club who help
maintain a permanent
monthly eye clinic for the
needy of Port Antonio
and nearby St. Mary and St.
Thomas. Over 1000 people
were dispensed glasses.
Many were given sun shades
to protect their eyes from U V
rays. 80
patients with cataracts were
identified and scheduled for
further evaluation &
surgery. If
interested in joining a
mission to Jamaica in the
future, contact Dr. Larry
Morrison at larry_morrison@excite.com
Vietnam,
December 15-22, 2006
Dr.
XuanMai Ta and her team of 15
dedicated professionals and
lay volunteers flew to the
Binh-Doung province of Vietnam
on December 15th.
In their 4 clinic days,
the 3 ophthalmologists and
their technicians did
82 cataract surgeries.
The 3 optometrist and their
team of 5 lay people
examined and dispensed glasses
to between 150 and 300 people
each day.
The dentist and her assistant
were able to see 200 patients,
most of which needed
extractions.
Each of the professions
brought along pieces of
their personal equipment
plus donated medicines from
manufacturers. They were
always happy to give
instruction on techniques
to the local doctors.
Dr. Ta praised her team for
their compassionate and hard
working demeanor over
the long 4 days of clinic.
View
Vietnam Pictures Here
Tanzania,
Oct 2006
On
Oct 18, 2006 a group of 25
left for Karatu, Tanzania.
The group included 8
optometrists and 2
ophthalmologists, as well
a good mix of veteran
VOSHers and a few VOSH
rookies. The trip
started out a little
rocky, with our flight to
Amsterdam being detoured
to Boston because of
engine problems.
After a 6 hour delay at
Boston we were off to
Amsterdam where we were
forced to overnight
because of missing our
connecting flight to
Tanzania. Finally
reaching Kilimanjaro
airport a day late,
we all arrived somewhat
rested after the overnight
in Amsterdam, only to find
all our luggage arrived,
but no boxes of glasses. After
having to pay an airport
official a bribe to leave
the airport, our
travel hosts whisked us
off to our hotel that
evening, then off to
Karatu, our work location,
the next morning.
Plans had to be made to
find the boxes of glasses,
as well as finding
transportation and funding
to get the boxes delivered
to us. After the
glasses arrived, we were
off to the Karatu Medical
Center for our work, now
two days late. We
were hosted by the Mayor
of Karatu, I guess, but we
only saw him once.
He didn't supply us with
any interpreters, but we
pulled a few off the
streets and many of our
patients spoke English, so
be got by alright.
The patients we saw were
quite poor and of great
need, so it was a great
work location. Best
of all, they were very
appreciative of the help
we provided. We only could
work 2 of the 4 days we
had planned because of our
travel problems, but
managed to see 1168
patients and referred 68
for cataract surgery.
After our work was over,
we had a wonderful 4 day
safari into many of the
game parks of Tanzania,
and that was spectacular.
We had a great group of
volunteers who worked
hard, even through our
problems. For me,
the trip was extra
special, being able to
take along my oldest
granddaughter and our
niece. For many, the
trip was a dream come
true.
View
Tanzania Pictures Here
Portoviejo,
Ecuador
May, 2006
Returning
to a previous mission site is
a heartwarming experience.
You know your hosts, you know
the area where you will be
working and you know that
everything
will be handled as you had
requested.
We had last been to
Portoviejo, Ecuador in June of
2003. By staying
in the homes of the Rotary
members, we had made some
personal friends back then,
and for those members of this
2006 team who were
returning, it was exciting to
know you would be seeing
familiar faces.
Most of
the Minnesota members were up
by 3:00am to get to the
Minneapolis airport by 4:30am
to meet up with other team
mates. Thirteen
Minnesota voshers then
left with glasses and
equipment, to meet three other
volunteers in Miami.
One from San Francisco, one
from Illinois and one from New
York. After a 5 hour
layover , we boarded
again to fly to
Guayaquil...... Capital of
Ecuador. What a
welcoming site to see our
hosts waiting for us as we
passed thru immigration with
our glasses and luggage.
They took us direct to a hotel
where we could spend the night
and freshen up the next
morning, before we took the 3
hour bus ride to Portoviejo.
That first day was spend
getting settled in to our home
stays and then unpacking
the glasses and setting
up for the next days
start of the mission clinic.
Friday and Saturday were long
days at the clinic.
Patients were seen from
8:00am until 9:00 pm.
Team members were very
glad to get back to their host
homes and retire.
On
Sunday, the Rotarians
arranged a trip to the beach.
Getting to our destination
took us on a 4 hour bus trip.
Then even the bus went on a
ferry crossing to get to
the hotel where we ate,
swan in the pool and enjoyed
the ocean.
Then
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday
were busy days examining and
dispensing.
A total of 2400 patients had
been seen and helped.
Each evening the Rotarians
took us out for dinner and
entertainment. Perfect
hosts.
Each team member was presented
with gifts. A genuine
Panama hat for the guys and a
hand woven purse for the gals.
We left
Portoviejo on Thursday morning
and arrived at the Minneapolis
airport at 11:00pm on Friday.
This was a very organized and
successful VOSH trip
We could not have asked for
better hosts than the local
Rotary Club. There
were allot of hugs and
goodbyes when we left.
"Till We Meet
Again?" You
never know.
View
Portoviejo Pictures Here
SENEGAL
March 24 - April 5, 2006
Plans had been in the works
for several months to do a
mission to Dakar, Senegal.
VOSH MN was doing this
mission with The Alexandru
Foundation from
Toronto, Canada. We
had done a very successful
mission with this
organization last year in
Romania, so were excited
about possible repeating the
experience again in Senegal.
Our team consisted of 18
from the US, 5 from Britain
and 1 from The Netherlands.
Kirk Thomas was
the team leader.
But, when we arrived in
Dakar, we were informed that
because of a local change in
plans, we would not be able
to hold a clinic there.
While they worked to find a
solution to the problem,
they offered to put us up in
a "all-inclusive
resort" about 2 hours
away from the airport.
Since most of us had been up
for almost 30 hours, we were
glad that we would finally
be able to relax and catch
up on our sleep.
And right on the beach
! !
The "all-inclusive
resort" turned out to
be a unused 6 bedroom house.
( for 25 of us)
Yes, it was right on the
beach and the view was
marvelous. But, the
"all-inclusive"
did not include the
amenities that we expected,
such as constant
running water, electricity,
towels and T.P. Food
was basically , bread, goat
meat, fish, cuscus and
fruit. We really
felt let down and no one
seemed to know what was
happening.
Finally, on the fifth day, a
coach bus came for us and we
were taken about 4 hours
away to the city of St.
Luis, where we were housed
and worked right in the city
hospital. We operated
the clinic for three and a
half days and saw about two
thousand people. There
was always a line of people
waiting to see us.
So although we did not work
where we had expected and
even though our living
conditions were not what we
thought they would be,
WE DID SERVE MANY PEOPLE.
We all left Senegal knowing
that our mission was
accomplished and that we
gave better sight to many
individuals.
Even though the Senegalese
spoke a different language,
and dressed differently,
worshiped differently and
certainly ate different food
than we do, they deserved
the opportunity of
receiving the means for
better sight. Those
fortunate enough to be
served will probably not
forget us for awhile but you
can be sure that VOSH MN.
will never forget Senegal.
View
Senegal Pictures Here
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Baia Mare, Romania -
April 28 - May 13, 2005
This
was one of the largest VOSH Minnesota
trips ever. We left for Baia Mare,
Romania on April 28th. Baia
Mare is very near the Hungary, Ukraine
borders. The mission
was a joint mission with Voluntarios de
la Santa Cruz, out of Montreal, Canada,
led by Fr. Pierre Lavine, a Catholic
priest. Dr. Jim Hess led the Minnesota
team. There were 52 members in all. This
included 14 optometry students from the
University of Montreal plus 8 optometrists.
(One each from New York, Idaho,
Tennessee, Louisiana, Australia and 3
from Minnesota---Bob Yaeger, Maureen
Whelan and Jim Hess). The team was
hosted by the mayor's office in
Baia Mare and worked in a school
gymnasium. In all, 5 days of
work, 4,965 patients were seen and
provided with glasses. 11 patients
had cataract surgery, provided by
our surgeons Bob Ostrow of Golden
Valley, MN. and Steve Bagan of Fargo,
ND.
An
unexpected surprise for the team when we
arrived in Baia Mare was to find out all
our room and board expenses were
provided by our hosts, as well as a
3-day tour of Northern Romania, which
included visiting Dracula's Castle. At
the end of this Romania adventure, 22 of
the team flew to Athens, Greece for an
extended holiday, returning home on May
13th.
View
Baia Mare Pictures Here
Chimbote, Peru -
April, 2005
It
was quite an adventure getting to our
mission site of Chimbote, Peru. Since
we had sent the eyeglasses ahead in
December, it was just our group of 13
members, plus the auto refractor and
our personal luggage that made up our
VOSH entourage.
Within
the first 24 hours of our trip, we had
our auto refractor held up in customs.
Then two of the team members bags did
not arrive at the Lima
airport. And if that wasn't enough,
the bus we planned to take from Lima
to Chimbote was cancelled.
BUT, we managed to overcome these
obstacles ( especially not having the auto refractor
at all during the trip) plus various
stomach ailments, and ended up having
a wonderful and successful VOSH trip.
Our
team, which included 4 optometrists
was hosted by the Chimbote catholic
parish. They were very well
organized due to the hard work of
15-20 parish staff and volunteers who
assisted us in the effort. We
saw over 1300 patients during our four
days of work.
It
was great to receive the
"gracias" and smiles from
the people, especially from the
elderly people who have never before
worn glasses. On our last day of
work, there was a surprise ceremony
for us from the parish workers.
They gave us plaques and expressed
their gratitude, and we in turn, were
grateful to them for all of their
collaboration.
We
will carry fond memories of this trip
to remember for a long while.
Mark
Heymans and Anne Attea
View
Chimote Pictures Here
South
Pacific Islands February, 2005
Jim
and Margie Hess joined a group of
sixteen other volunteers to work in the
island country of Vanuatu in February.
They worked with the Loloma Foundation
out of San Diego, and were the only eye
care professionals on the trip. The
group included one dermatologist, two
anesthesiologists, a radiologist, and
ENT, an infectious disease specialist,
and an internist.
The
primary work site was on the island of
Tanna, but also included clinics held on
the island of Erranmongo, Efate, and
then onto to Beqa, which is part of
Fiji. All together Jim and Margie saw
310 patients. They report it was fun
working with this very interesting group
of people, but the most fun was staying
on board the Silentworld, a converted
fishing boat now used as a live aboard
diving boat. They spent a week on board
120 by 30 foot Australian registered
vessel. The work crew was brought ashore
each day by inflatable outboard motor
powered tenders. They both enjoyed it a
lot and look forward to joining up with
the group again, and maybe taking a VOSH
team to Vanuatu and staying aboard the
Silent One.
View
Photos for South Pacific Islands Here
San
Felix, Venezuela
January 26 - February 4,
2005
By
Bob Boeding & Norm
McCarthy
How
did this all get
started?
Norm
McCarthy attended mass
at the Minnesota State
Fair in 2003, when
Father Greg Schaffer
officiated. FR
Greg was with a choir of
youth, who preformed at
several locations,
raising funds for the
mission in San Felix.
Fr
Greg and Norm visited
briefly and in the
course of the
conversation, Fr Greg
heard about Norm’s
involvement with VOSH
(Volunteer Optometric
Service to Humanity.
When
could you bring a VOSH
team to my mission to
serve the poor?
Norm
contacted Bob Boeding,
who had been on several
VOSH missions and lead
two previous missions,
with the question:
How could we put a
mission together? .
The ball started rolling
and after numerous
Emails and working out
the details, a team of
five ( 5) Doctors and 15
service people, traveled
to Puerto Ordaz (across
the river from San
Felix).
Fr
Greg and his staff did a
super job of meeting the
needs of the team:
Serving breakfast and
lunch at the work site,
providing transportation
to and from the hotel
and providing
translators.
During
the four days (Jan 28,
29 & 31 and Feb 1)
of examining patients
and dispensing glasses,
the team was able to
serve over 1,700 people.
Unfortunately
there were numerous
older people who had
blinding cataracts which
would require surgery.
Dr Luz took the names
and addresses of these
people and plans to
negotiate deals with
local ophthalmologists
to do the surgeries.
After
the mission was over, we
spent a couple of days
seeing the local sights.
Some of the team went to
see the famous Angel
Falls while others spent
time on a riverboat
cruise on the Orinoco
River.
None of us will forget
the people and area of
San Felix, Venezuela.
View
Photos Venezuela Here
LIMA,
PERU
January 1-11, 2004
Dr.
Jim Hess, led this team
of 16 Voshers from
Minnesota and Idaho and
a group of 10 optometry
students from the
University of California
at Berkeley.
We were hosted on
this mission by the
Rotary Clubs of Lima who
welcomed us on our
arrival at the airport
and worked along side
our team to make this
mission a success.
In this city of 8
million people, there
was never a shortage of
patients.
On the second
morning when the team
arrived to work at
7:00am there were 1600
people waiting in line
for glasses.
The
team worked 3 days in a
large hospital
in Lima and 1 day
in a small town located
about 2 hours away where
optical care is scarce.
About
2300 patients were seen
on this mission.
After
the clinic was over,
some of the team went to
see Machu Picchu out of
Cuzco and
others went to
spend time in the Amazon
River Jungle out of
Iquitos.
View
Lima Photos Here
MEXICO
November 22-29,
2003
Dr
Julie Walsh of Wabasha,
Minnesota led this team
to Norogachi, Chihuahua,
Mexico, a small village
of 4000 people in the
Sierra Madre mountains
of northwest Mexico.
203
people were provided
with an eye examination
and fitted with
eyeglasses during the 3
day mission.
There is no local
eye doctor or optical
shop in town.
Even if there
were, the local people
could not afford
to purchase glasses.
Most families are
struggling to obtain food
and shelter.
The
team enjoyed the train
ride through the
beautiful mountains to
the bottom of
Copper Canyon for
the clinic and then
the return ride
to Los Mochis for a
well earned day
of leisure before they
headed back to
Minnesota.
Dr.
Walsh would like to
return to the Copper
Canyon area in the
future with another VOSH
mission.
View
Mexican Photos Here
DOMINICAN
REPUBLIC - October 4-11,
2003
Dr.
Brian Hamann led this
mission and was hosted
by World Servants.
The clinic was held in
Villa Esfuerzo, near
Santo Domingo. Dr.
Pard Chan, and
optometrist from New
York, joined the team in
the Dominican Republic.
The team stayed at a
camp on the outskirts of
Santo Domingo and had to
commute over and hour
each way to Villa
Esfuerzo. They
were able to see 850
patients in their 4 days
of clinic. The
team was able to spend
one day visiting Tres
Ojos, the market, and
taking in some of the
oldest historic sites in
the Western Hemisphere.
View
Dominican Republic
Photos here
PORTOVIEJO,
ECUADOR - June 2-11,
2003
This
trip was led by Bob
Boeding and hosted by
the Rotary Club of
Portoviejo with
participants staying in
private homes of Rotary
members and their
friends. The group
served 2500 patients in
four days. The patients
were selected ahead of
time by the Rotary Club.
They were bussed to a
central location for the
clinic, coming from five
of the poorest church
parishes.
The
VOSH group had excellent
help from the
translators, most of
whom were in the Rotary
student exchange program
or local high school
students. The exchange
students were from
several US States as
well as from Australia
and Germany.
Following
the clinic, the
participants spent 3
days touring the area
including Crucita Beach,
Manta, Montecristi,
National Park
Machalilla, Montanita,
Olon Salinas. Then back
to Guayaquil for the
flight home.
The
Rotary Club members of
Portoviejo provided
wonderful hospitality
and organization making
this a very successful
and enjoyable VOSH
mission.
View
Ecuador Photos Here
SHCHORS,
UKRAINE - April 24-May
5, 2003
Dr.
Jim Hess led this
mission and it was
hosted by Cliff and Kay
Netz of Hand in Hand
Together, a humanitarian
organization based in
Maple Grove, MN. For
this mission the
eyeglasses were sent
ahead in a cargo
container with other
goods and supplies for
the people of Shchors.
The
17 team members saw
approximately 2000
patients, and one
surgeon completed 16
cataract surgeries. Most
of the patients were
elderly residents living
on government assistance
and were very grateful
to receive a pair of
eyeglasses. The clinic
was very well organized.
The patients had been
assigned dates and times
by the coordinator in
Shchors, so there was
never a long line of
people waiting for
service. Shchors is a
very economically
depressed area, with
unemployment at about
90%, so there was a
great need for
assistance.
The
VOSH team enjoyed great
hospitality in private
homes in Shchors, and
had R&R days in
Kiev, Moscow (Red
Square!) and a stop in
Amsterdam on the way
home.
View
Ukraine Photos Here
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