What started more than 30 years ago as an effort to help 25 local disadvantaged kids see clearly with a pair of glasses has grown into a global movement called OneSight. Mothers came with children who’d never seen clearly before. After an eye exam and a fitting, the children had glasses and were off to see the world in a new way. Parents left in grateful tears. That could have been the end of the story. But this small group of passionate people offering free eye exams and glasses saw a different ending; they felt that something in them had changed. Over the days ahead they shared stories that were moving, funny, and inspiring. There was a real possibility out there for changing people’s lives in an immediate and profound way.
Clinic manager Steve Stockton was a volunteer with the first OneSight charitable vision clinic, and he has seen the organization grow from a charitable-minded clinic model to now including a self-sustaining solution. “The first clinic was in 1991 in Costa Rica,” Steve recounted. “We saw 8,600 people in two weeks at a couple of schools and a community center. At that time, we were using recycled eyewear. Each bag was labeled with a prescription range and we were picking from those glasses and giving them to our patients. Now, we’re going into countries and making new eyewear for our patients in their exact prescription and with a frame of their choice. ”
OneSight is now a major nonprofit organization that helps people see and live better around the world. The organization brings comprehensive eye exams, quality eyewear, and permanent vision care access to the people and places most in need. Currently 1 in 7 people worldwide lack access to vision care. With over 130 permanent vision centers providing access to vision care to more than 20 million people across the globe, OneSight is delivering a self-sustaining model for vision care that will close the vision care gap.
Why is closing the vision care gap so important? “If you can’t see, you can’t learn,” Steve remarked. “We have kids out here that have never worn glasses, and they’re so myopic and hyperopic that you’re wondering how they’re learning anything in school. That can lead to behavioral and other problems. But you put glasses on them, and it’s a whole new world.”
OneSight is leading the way in providing vision care access for all. Vision care allows people to live up to their potential in school, work, and in other areas of their lives. In turn, communities prosper when everybody has the chance to see what they can do in life. OneSight’s self-sustaining care model is proving to be the best way to offer communities a hand up. “Instead of just going into a country for a week or two and then leaving,” said Steve, “We are sharing our skills and knowledge and teaching locals what we do so that when we leave they’re continuing the process. That way the gift continues to grow.”
Working with local communities, OneSight tailors solutions to the needs of each individual place. They then use technology and innovative strategies to bring vision care to those in need. In short, OneSight goes to places and lengths no one else will, and they have the expertise to find and drive solutions. They also plan to increase their speed and coverage to close the vision care gap for good.
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OneSight’s work supports job creation, manufacturing labs, and public-private partnerships. Right now, for example, the organization is supporting a future pipeline of eye doctors in Rwanda through a partnership with the University of Rwanda. To date OneSight has opened 15 self-sustaining vision centers and created over 50 new jobs in Rwanda alone.
“At OneSight, we believe that everyone in the world deserves access to vision care, and we know it’s possible,” said K-T Overbey, OneSight’s Executive Director and President. “We know that we can close the vision care gap for good and we are working side-by-side with communities around the world to provide them with the best solution possible. We empower those communities by training and equipping them to provide self-sustaining care today and for years to come. Together, we are creating a better world through clear sight.”
To accomplish the important work of bringing eye care to the world, OneSight collaborates with a wide range of partners; a broad network of eye care providers; national and local community partners; leading lens, frame, and equipment manufacturers; doctors; donors; and volunteers with a variety of skills. Ideal partners help OneSight get into locations faster and deliver scale more quickly.
From donating to volunteering, anybody can become involved. Story after moving story comes back from the field about how a simple pair of glasses can make a difference in a child’s education, or how a new prescription can help a worker stay on the job and advance. Collectively these stories add up to villages and even whole countries living up to their fullest potential. When other people do better, we all do. Take Blai Yang, both a patient and a volunteer. “I remember the first time I saw the leaves on a tree when I got my first pair of glasses,” he said. “Being able to see has allowed me to be where I am today. Sight is everything. Without sight, you can’t live to your full potential.”
Sights clearly set on the future, OneSight is driven by a sense of mission. They have proved that contributions of time, money, and expertise continue to pay dividends, because eye care creates its own sustainable economic universe. To become involved and help give the gift of clear sight to a community in need, visit https://onesight.org/donate.
