Blog Entry #19- Answer 3

EQ: How can an optometrist reduce the effects that poverty has on vision?

Whats your 3rd Answer?

• An optometrist can reduce the effects that poverty has on vision by providing assistance in countries that have few resources and few eye clinics. Volunteering will relieve the financial burden that impoverished countries face when paying optometrist. "VOSH" is a NGO (non-governmental organization) that allows an optometrist to select a country to volunteer at. The website gives information on the status of the location in need of assistance. Volunteering also benefits impoverished countries by giving away free supplies likes glasses, contacts, and other equipment used to treat patients. An example would be an organization known as "vision springs", which manufactured over 102,000 glasses to give away to those in need of visual correction. Lastly, volunteering raises publicity by appealing to individuals on an emotional level. This correlates back to my first answer, awareness, because people will start to get involved if publicity raises. Optometrist that volunteer their time to help those in need greatly impact the effects that poverty has on vision by reducing vision loss. Their help can make a huge impact if more and more optometrist get involved and volunteer their time to help others in need.