Vision Source & Optometry Giving Sight Open Haiti's First School of Optometry
Haiti is a country with a population of 10 million people and only three optometrists. Learn how Vision Source is working to change that.
Vision Source and Optometry Giving Sight officially open Haiti’s first optometry school, l’Université d’Etat d’Haiti on April 12th, 2018.
Supporting the Launch of Haiti's First Opetometry School
Haiti is a country with a population of 10,000,000 people and only three optometrists. Moved by this fact, Vision Source created the Million Dollar Campaign. Launched in 2014, the Million Dollar Campaign was initiated to benefit Optometry Giving Sight to help underwrite the building of Haiti’s first optometry school, l’Université d’Etat d’Haiti.
Watch the following video to learn more about the Vision Source Million Dollar Campaign
Reaching Our Fundraising Goal
In 2016, Optometry Giving Sight proudly announced that the Vision Source Million Dollar Campaign reached its fundraising goal during The Exchange 2016 in San Antonio, Texas.
The Vision Source Million Dollar Campaign focused on providing a significant portion of needed funding to launch Haiti's first optometry school. Giving Haitians the ability to receive education that will change the sight of their nation for generations to come.
Creating Sustainable Eye Care in Haiti
Haiti's shortage of trainined optometrists leaves the majority of Haitian people without adequate vision care. Over the last five years, Optometry Giving Sight and Vision Source have worked together to ensure that the people of Haiti have access to sustainable eye care and training opportunities. Haiti's first optometry school, l’Université d’Etat d’Haiti, aims to graduate 16 new optometrists per year. The overall goal is to create easy access to quality vision care for generations to come.
Jeff Duncan, Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer for Vision Source, said “With virtually no optometrists, there has been limited opportunity for the Haitians to obtain quality vision care. Vision Source feels privileged to play a role in helping build a sustainable foundation to change this. Partnering with Optometry Giving Sight, underscores Vision Source's mission of ‘enriching lives by enabling independent optometrists to reach their full potential’.”