This year La Sagrada Familia hosted the largest group yet for the annual Eye Mission. 31 volunteers from the US and a group of Dominican volunteers carried out a successful eye clinic in Sabana Yegua, with 911 patients that received eye exams, diagnoses and prescriptions when appropriated. The ophthalmologists and their surgery teams carried out 89 surgeries.
We share with you the reflection from one of the volunteers:
“I just got back from my first service mission in Sabana Yegua, Dominican Republic, where my service consisted of being a translator. I spent a week with some wonderful people from different walks of life. Together, we represented 11 different countries. We spent a week fitting the neediest in the community (Dominicans and Haitians) with glasses, as the doctors performed eye exams and cataract surgeries.
Since I’ve worn glasses since third grade, it is beyond words to see people’s faces light up when they tried on a pair of glasses. So, imagine those who had cataract surgeries. All in all, a rewarding experience!”
The Community of Saint Paul welcomes the ophthalmological campaign of professional volunteers of Wisconsin in the parish La Sagrada Familia (Dominican Republic)
From the 7th to the 15th of January, La Sagrada Familia parish hosted a group of ophthalmologists from Wisconsin (USA), who has been visiting and performing medical operations here for twelve years: twelve years of commitment and dedication to the well-being of the inhabitants of the region, through the improvement of their health. On this occasion, 26 people from Wisconsin traveled to the Dominican Republic to perform vision checks and surgeries, which are the two central components of the campaign.
For four days they checked 850 people, and prescribed 204 glasses. They also reviewed the view of 300 children from the José Francisco Bobadilla primary school in Sabana Yegua.
On the other hand, the surgical operation was carried out —as in previous years— in the public hospital of Azua (located eleven kilometers away from the parish), with the help of local medical personnel. A total of 92 cataract surgeries and 32 pterigium surgeries were performed for a total of 124 patients, making this 2017 campaign the one in which most surgeries were performed.
A secondary component of the campaign is that the volunteers involved commit annually to raising funds for the construction of a home for a needy family in the parish. This time the beneficiary family has nine children and they live in very precarious conditions.
We would like to express our deep gratitude to the volunteers from Wisconsin as well as the volunteers from the parish who helped this Campaign become a reality. With more than 1,000 people attended and 124 surgeries performed, we can say, without a doubt, that it was a big success. Thank you!
