May 29, 2011

If you bet Mexico team could not assist 1600 patients in one day…YOU LOST!

By gbertuzzo

The team is getting better and better each day, today with the record of 1,625 visits. It was a non-stop day, where kids, young kids, adults and elderly people continued to pass through all the stations of our clinic: registration, vision acuity, auto-refractor, medical examination, glasses selection and dispensing…

Of course the dispensing moment is very emotional – that is when people actually are fitted with their glasses and they start to see…and of course the first thing they see is…our faces!

But no way we could assist an average of 200 people a day, if there wasn´t a strong leadership and a committed team behind…and if we weren´t also having fun while doing it!

Even we take our goal VERY seriously, it doesn’t mean we cannot find the time to sing happy birthday to a 7th year old that is celebrating her birthday with a new pair of eyewear!  Or to play with a toddler while his mum is getting an exam, or finding the time for our official group photo.

We could write for ever bout all the people that we met, but  we are very eager to share about the special group that attended our clinic toward the end of the day. All from Zoquitlan (South East of Puebla), this group traveled 8 hours by bus to come and see us. 8 hours! Compared to others, we couldn´t interact much with them, as they mostly spoke Nahuatl, a local dialect. Among them, theer were also kids, including Ceasar: 5 year old, bad vision and already went through a brain surgery. We were not able to find the right pair of glasses for him today, but thanks to Leona Dockery commitment and OneSight, he will be soon receive his custom-made glasses.

Enough of reading, time to jump to the images gallery!

ENJOY!

Nobody ever said that learning a new language is easy…glad the team is using some tricks!
3-2-1.. SMILE!
Camila Rodrigues babysitting a patient’s son: not sure who is having more fun!
Registration: this is what looks like most of the day. People are already in line when we get in in the morning, and some very proactive person also set up a small food stand outside our clinic
Jeremy Rex brought to the mission his wife old glasses and here they are on the face of a happy young lady. Thanks to Jeremy, and please continue to donate eyewear to OneSight!
Carolyn Rebelo and Greta Bertuzzo spotted among the patients from Zoquitlan, an 8-hour bus ride to Puebla
The full line of hard-working volunteers at the IMS station! IMS stands for inventory management system
Managing the inventory is no easy task, but Allison Steinmetz has been doing a fantastic job!
It was Martha's birthday today! We gifted with a visit and a pair of eyewear..and she gifted with soo many hugs!! she simply started to hug all of us! In this picture Chiara Bernardi, Carolyn Rebelo
Ceasar thanking Leona for his custom made glasses. Hang in there Ceasar, they will be ready soon!
They say there is always a first time, but at our clinic every day there is a first time eyewear wearer: Joanne King helped Soccorro see clearly for the first time
Shelley from South Africa is doing ana amazing job making all our recipients feel welcoem and taken care of..some of them are pretty nervous.

8 Comments

  1. LisaB says:

    Excellent job on the blog. Love the stories.  LOVE the pictures OOPS digital images for all you LC folks out there. say Hi to Art for me I can see for myself he’s having an amazing ONESIGHT experience :-) 8-)

    Posted on Sun May 29, 2011 7:45 am EST

  2. Stefania says:

    Love reading the blog!! Keep writing!! :))

    Posted on Sun May 29, 2011 11:51 am EST

  3. Tracy R says:

    What a fantastic adventure you are all on!!!! A special HELLO to Joanne from Canada!! I am proud of the work you are doing and love seeing you in pictures!! xoxox

    Posted on Sun May 29, 2011 12:11 pm EST

  4. big al says:

    excellent job on blog. love the pictures. i can see everyone haveing an amazing ONESIGHT experience. were proud of all the work monkey ,carolyn and every one there . keep up the needed work THANK YOU ALL

    Posted on Sun May 29, 2011 3:09 pm EST

  5. Tanya Duczek says:

    Great job team Mexico!!  I am enjoying the blog and the great photos.  Hello to my friends, Joanne, Aleem and Pam!!  Keep up the great work, and enjoy the journey!!  xo

    Posted on Sun May 29, 2011 3:09 pm EST

  6. Mike G says:

    Awesome pics Carolyn! Everyone is doing an amazing job there. Keep up the good work.

    Posted on Sun May 29, 2011 4:51 pm EST

  7. Donna K says:

    Awesome job team it is truly wonderful to see the pictures. I love the joyous look on people’s faces when they can see, the look says it all.

    Posted on Sun May 29, 2011 9:41 pm EST

  8. Neil's Family says:

    Hi Neil….wow what a group of people you took care of on Saturday!  Reading about them, seeing the pictures is an emotional experience for us every time.  And when your picture pops up, Mom and Dad say “Oh, there’s our son”!  It makes them so full of joy to see the wonderful work you are doing.  We are sure that you are receiving as much happiness as you are giving. Mom and Dad and Ev send lots of love.  KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!

    Posted on Sun May 29, 2011 11:13 pm EST

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