Providing life-changing eye care to African village

A TEAM of optometrists travelled to Ghana, armed with 4,000 pairs of specs, to run a week of eye clinics in a region where few people have access to glasses.

The optical specialists from Specsavers stores in Hinckley and Lutterworth, led by practice director and optometrist, Abhijit Roy, have been supporting the ongoing work of the Ashanti Development charity for the last two decades.

They have made several trips to the region since 2010 and for the most recent, which took place in October, they were accompanied by colleagues from several other Specsavers practices – including brothers Ian and Neil Stradling, directors of Specsavers in Bourne, Spalding and Holbeach.

Completely self-funded by the team themselves, they all made the journey to the small Ghanian village of Jetiase in the Ashanti region, where they carried out sight tests for more than 1,300 people and dispensed more than 1,000 pairs of glasses. They also referred more than 70 people for cataract surgery.

The team’s fundraising efforts topped almost £9,000 before they left for Ghana which helped fund the cataract operations. A team of ophthalmologists from Kumasi Hospital joined the group for the second week of their trip to perform the surgeries.

Abhijit Roy says: ‘The Ashanti Development is something that is close to all our hearts. The work it does makes a huge difference to the people in the community and surrounding areas. It’s estimated that 95% of people that need glasses in Ghana don’t have access to affordable eye care services and glasses.

‘We’d like to say thanks to those who have contributed to our fundraising total and helped us by donating so many pairs of specs. This was my sixth visit to Ghana as part of this project and seeing firsthand how much the glasses and the cataract surgery change people’s lives will always feel special,’ continues Abhijit.

‘We saw some really complex cases as people were not able to afford to go to hospitals for checks and ongoing care, so it was hugely rewarding to be able to help them.’

To find out more about the charity and the work they do visit the Ashanti Development website: http://ashantidevelopment.org/.