February 17, 2012

Last Clinic Day…February 16th, 2012

By ahoutman

It is a bittersweet day – our last day of clinic. While friends, family and familiar comforts await us at home, we are acutely aware that we have few remaining hours in this welcoming country. It feels as if we just arrived and yet have been here forever, all at the same time. Our clinic was well positioned and we were quite busy. I have never seen so many oversized bifocals in one day –oh my! Two weeks takes a toll on inventory – fortunately we still met the needs of our patients, and our go-gos still felt beautiful and grateful in their super-sized specs. Tonight we will have a celebratory brai (BBQ) poolside at the hotel to honor our partners and volunteers, and tomorrow we begin the journey to our respective countries and homes. The unity we feel in our hearts, the incredible memories, and the gift of sight we have provided will carry on long we are gone, and to Luxottica and Onesight we say “siyabonga mgiyakutah nta” (thank you and we love you”)!

Kelly Aung (USA): When we arrived to our clinic, we were surprised to see so many locals out selling clothes, food, toys, etc. It turns out today is their pay day, and the site we are in is where locals come to collect. We were welcomed by music, vibrant colors and so much culture. It was wonderful to see so many people out there this morning, and it really pumped us up for the big day ahead. What a way to end this amazing mission! 

Berrak Onal (Turkey-Izmir-KSK):  Son gunumuz disarida inanilmaz bir kalabalik var bugun super gececek. Insanlar Pazar kurmuslar inanilmaz birgun. Son kez insanlari mutlu edecegiz tabi sadece bu klinik icin eylemlerimiz devam edecek… Bizi izlemeye devam edin

Anita Reed (USA Home Office):  Today is the last day of clinic and pay day for people of the area. As we arrived we were astounded by the number of street vendors lining the way.  Clothes, live animals, anything and everything a person could want were available once their government check was cashed. Our expectations for today is, BUSY, since the people are here, we expect them to take advantage of our services also. Our spirits are mixed today, excitement for the day we have ahead of us and sadness for the completion of our journey.

Marinella (Italy): Bene siamo all’ultimo giorno di clinica e mi dispiace un casino che questa bellissima avventura sia finita.Non siamo stati Fermi un minuto per le tante persone che continuano ad arrivare. E tutto bellissimo!Persone che vanno via con il sorriso e ti ringraziano 1000 volte perche’ ora ci vedono.Monica hai proprio ragione tu: Esiste il mal d’Africa!!! Ci vediamo in Italia!!! ONESIGHT grazie!

Bill Mullin (USA): I have dispensed thousands of glasses around the world over past twelve years and today I had a first. I was dispensing to a man who prayed before he put his glasses on. I took the glasses from him to make an adjustment and when I gave them back to him he prayed again before putting them on. I had him look at the VA chart and he let out a huge smile, so his prayers were answered! I have been struggling with whether to retire from International clinics for the last two years, and then a moment like that happens and I remember why I can’t stop doing this work! I love being able to help someone’s prayers come true.

3 Comments

  1. Jan Nunn (Steven Lewis's mom) says:

    To ahoutman: I wanted to say a special thanks to you for the best blog series I have ever read! You did a tremendous job keeping all of us at home up to date. I know I was able to sleep better each night knowing you were all safe. I am so very proud of all of you and the work you are doing for those who need your help so desperately. Thank you again for a job very well done!

    Posted on Sat Feb 18, 2012 9:11 pm EST

  2. ahoutman says:

    Mrs Nunn:  Thank you so much for taking the time to provide such gracious words - it means so much - as a team we all put our heart into the blog. You must be very proud of your son.  Both Steven and Julie inspire me as leaders, individuals and as a married couple - they were the heart and soul of our team - we all love them so much!

    Posted on Sun Feb 19, 2012 3:26 pm EST

  3. Traci Noonan says:

    Welcome home team!  Thank you for the wonderful blog and sharing your journey with us back home.  I felt the joy you felt, the excitement and anticipation of each clinic day.  You are all such an inspiration.  Thank you all for sharing the love of us all here at Luxottica!

    Posted on Sun Feb 19, 2012 9:38 pm EST

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