My name is Silis Faruku, and I am a rising senior at Summit High School in New Jersey. Last summer, while visiting my home country of Albania, I spent two weeks in the village where my father grew up. During my stay there I noticed that so many elderly individuals who suffered from vision impairment problems left their condition untreated and did not wear glasses. This is mostly due to the fact that they live in isolated areas, do not have access to optometrists and they lack the financial means. Limitation to access and affordability to reading glasses is a global problem and roughly 1.8 billion people around the world suffer from presbyopia and other untreated vision problems. As a result, I decided to launch and fund a pilot to provide free reading glasses for [phone redacted] people in need, starting with Albania. Tirana, the capital of Albania, has a population of 528,000 citizens. As of 2024, 20% of the population is 65 and over (105,600). Also as of 2024, the population of people over 65 with presbyopia is 30% (32,000). This year RestoringVision (a U.S Nonprofit and the source for my reading glasses), the Municipality of Tirana and I have proudly joined forces for me to establish a new project aimed at providing free reading glasses to Albanian citizens aged 65 and over who have an income of less than $2 a day. In July 2024, I plan to travel to and launch this pilot project to provide glasses to 7 sub-municipal centers in the capital, Tirana, Albania. Many do not realize that helping people gain access to these reading glasses can improve their productivity by 32% and increase an individual’s income by $140 a year if they are still working. Donating just $20 dollars can help 10 people,$100 can help 50 receive a free pair of reading glasses. I am committed to continue this initiative for as long as possible, with the support of each and every one of you. It would be my hope to continue to provide more access and chances for people (to see clearly) in a developing country like Albania and improving the quality of life of the beneficiary individuals. Your support with each donation is a chance at making a life better.