Hope Alliance Vision Clinic points to a greater future partnership

The 2023 Hope Alliance Team (L to R): Scott Martin, John Lippert, Stanna Frampton, Stacy Lippert, Jess Bost, Dr. Rich Humphreys, Beth Martin, Dr. Keith Linford, Barnabas Oyesiga, Kym Meehan, and Lisa Mosher together at the Bwindi Guest House

Recently, a team from Hope Alliance spent almost two weeks in the Bwindi region putting on what has become an annual healthcare event. Stacy Lippert, a Hope Alliance board member, vision care volunteer, and former Kellermann Foundation Board member, expressed it best. “It was our fifth vision clinic trip to Uganda since 2017 and was probably the best trip thus far. We get better at our clinic process each time we go. We had ten local volunteers as well, four of whom had helped with the clinic during the two prior years, so they were also very good at the clinics and very, very helpful.”

Since 2001, Hope Alliance has been collaborating with churches, doctors, clubs and schools to collect used eyeglasses that are in good condition. With a team of volunteers, the glasses are processed by inspecting, cleaning, sorting, labeling and cataloging them so they can be distributed during the vision clinics. This month, the Hope Alliance team saw 1,451 patients, most of whom were fitted with new eyeglasses.

These clinics are a game changer for people, especially in developing countries like Uganda. The ability to see and read allows a child to succeed in school, or it means a mother will be able to read to her children or make a living in ways like sewing, farming or basket weaving. Fathers can find jobs and support their families, and seniors can live a more independent lifestyle. 

The clinic is now an annual event in Uganda, and it points to a closer partnership between Hope Alliance’s Vision Clinics, the Bwindi Community Hospital and Uganda Nursing School Bwindi. Within approximately the next 12 months, a Dental and Vision Clinic is planned, and groundbreaking will happen in the vicinity of the hospital and nursing school. The hope is to start a Rotary International Grant to fund the necessary vision equipment, and then fund another grant to educate two optometrists and one ophthalmologist. 

One of the other important goals, of course, is to inspire the nursing students and the nursing school to create a certificate program, where they can learn and specialize in a degree in vision care. These trained vision care workers can organize and do the needed pre-work before Hope Alliance optometrists arrive in Uganda, identifying which areas and which people need help.

For Stacy and the Hope Alliance Team, the most rewarding part is seeing the smiles of joy from the people who can now see, many of whom have not been able to see or read for many years!