In The Beginning ...

… there was but a simple idea — eyeglasses and eye care for the underprivileged in third-world countries.  That was 1994.  Today, 14 countries and 22 projects later, volunteers are preparing to transport 10,000 pairs of eyeglasses to Ecuador.

 Marina  and Austin check eyeglasses destined for Ecuador.

Dr. Marina Roma-March is an optometrist and the founder of the Third World Eye Care Society (TWECS), Vancouver, B.C.  She is responsible for the logistics and the volunteers of TWECS projects that deliver eyeglasses to tens of thousands of underprivileged in third-world countries: Africa, Ethiopia, Mexico, Nicaragua, the Philippines and Viet Nam, to name a few.

In the wee hours on the morning of October 30, a team of 19 will meet at YVR to do the last minute preparations before checking in and boarding United Airlines Flight 337 to Quito, Ecuador.

Alf manages the warehouse in Burnaby, B.C.

Each TWECS project takes a year of planning and preparation. It is no small feat to collect, test, clean, sort and package the eyeglasses needed to take on each mission.  It is no small task to work with language barriers, politics, and cultural differences to ensure volunteers are safe and the eyeglasses are dispensed to the underprivileged.  Above all, it is time consuming.

Third World Eye Care Society volunteers donate their time in one, or both, of two ways: at the warehouse sorting and boxing eyeglasses, and travelling to a third-world country.

Volunteers who travel with the project donate their time (away from work and family) and pay an average of $2,000 or more to cover their airfare and accommodation.  Added to these costs are vaccinations and medications required when travelling to some of the countries. 

Katherine preparing glasses for the project.

Volunteers at the warehouse donate a few hours on Monday nights focusing on the eyeglasses. 

TWECS also collects monetary donations to pay for warehouse supplies and to offset the costs of the foreign projects.  Your $5, $10, $20 or $50 will add up to make a 2014 project possible. Please donate today.

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