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Jane with local children in Sierra Leone last year. :: SUR
A sight for sore eyes

A sight for sore eyes

An English optometrist is raising funds for a charitable trip to Sierra Leone

ASH BOLTON

Friday, 27 October 2017, 10:28

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An Estepona eye specialist is set to fly to Sierra Leone next month to help improve the eyesight of some of the country's poorest people.

  • www.opticamachin.com

  • www.visionaidoverseas.org

Jane Machin will join a team of five British optometrists who will help diagnose sight-related problems and provide training for local technicians and students.

Organised by the UK charity Vision Aid Overseas, the trip will see the team visit rural communities in the West African country, where locals don't have access to eye care.

Jane, 60, who works at Optica Machin in Estepona and has lived in Spain for 30 years, told SUR in English: As optometrists we don't actually operate. Our role is to screen for eye problems. If they can be resolved by using spectacles, then we prescribe. We identify eye disease, for example glaucoma or cataracts. Those who need surgery, such as cataract surgery or surgery for tumours or trachoma, will be directed to the eye surgeons for either surgery or medication.

The main problems we find are simply the need for glasses and this can be easily resolved. Other issues are more challenging. Cataract is very common in Africa and can only be treated by surgery. Glaucoma is also common but is difficult to treat as the medication is not readily available.

Jane, who is now on her fourth trip with Vision Aid Overseas, having visited Uganda in 2012, Ethiopia in 2013 and Sierra Leone last year, explained that despite the latter having a population of more than seven million people, there is currently only one ophthalmologist, four cataract surgeons, one optometrist and 12 technicians to provide eye care to the entire country.

Many rural areas have no access to eye care at all and so establishing clinics and training local technicians helps to provide eye care to those who so desperately need it, she added.

Jane, who was born in Essex and moved to Spain 30 years ago, said that Vision Aid Overseas exists so that children in African countries who can't see, can learn and get an education, and adults who can't see, can earn to support their families and contribute to their communities.

She explained: This is done by outreach projects, where we take eye care out to rural communities to make it accessible to them, but also by teaching and training, as we train local eye care workers. In Ethiopia and Zambia, we have established university courses in Optometry and in Sierra Leone we provide practical experience for the students.

In addition, sustainable eye care facilities are also vital. Vision Aid Overseas supports the development of Vision Centres where patients can receive a walk-in eye examination, purchase an affordable pair of glasses and be referred for further specialist care if necessary.

As for her reasons for continuing to support Vision Aid Overseas, Jane said: It is very rewarding. I feel I have helped in a small way.

I became a member of Vision Aid Overseas, as did my father, when it was first established over 30 years ago. Due to children and business commitments, I never went on a trip although it was something that I had always wanted to do and I had often discussed it with my father. In 2011, he died suddenly and I realised that sometimes you have to just go for what you want to do. My children inspired me to have a fund raising party and we raised enough sponsorship to finance the trip. I did it in memory of my father.

I keep going back because there is still a lot to do and being a part of this project is actually a great privilege.

Vision Aid Overseas was founded in 1985 after a group of British eye specialists spent two weeks trying to establish eye clinics in Tanzania.

They tested the eyes of local people and dispensed secondhand spectacles collected in the UK. The charity now operates clinics in more than 23 countries and has helped hundreds of thousands of people in developing countries to see.

Jane needs to raise 1,000 euros for the trip so that the charity is not left out of pocket. To help fund Jane's trip visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/janestauntonmachin

Alternatively, there is a charity box at Optica Machin in Avenida Litoral, Estepona.

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