Sight for Africa
My name is Joshua Wasson and for over two weeks this coming November I will be traveling to Africa, Techiman and Kumasi with Lions In Sight, to provide vision care (sight testing and distribution of donated glasses) for those in need. Lions In Sight makes several missions a year throughout the world. This will be my second overseas mission with this organization. As many of you know there are areas in Africa that are in ruins, and are in dire need of help.
In April of this 2014, I went with Lions In Sight to Haiti to give glasses (almost 4000 pair) to people who would otherwise never have the gift of sight. Below is a picture of our clinic in a church in Haiti as well as some photos of the surrounding area. The conditions in Haiti were devastating to say the least. There is an overwhelming amount of poverty and disease since the major quake.
Locally I have completed a 2 week mission at the Hoopa Valley reservation in California. During this mission we saw every child possible and every adult in need, with fully dilated health exams. Glasses were made in a state of the art mobile lab on the schools playground. To see the smiles on their faces is priceless, especially when it is their first time seeing clearly.
It has been a passion of mine to help people near and far. From helping to give sight to those in need, delivering Christmas gifts to children in transition, or teaching against bias, bigotry and racism to our youth; it brings me great pleasure knowing I am making a difference. On these missions I take my personal time off from work. This mission will be a bit longer than most so I will take some days without pay. However to me, it will pay me back tenfold knowing I helped bring sight to Africa.
Other than shipping charges there is no cost for glasses that are generously donated by the Lions Club. There is an estimated charge of $1,200.00 for the airfare. Although we keep costs minimal by staying with local Lions Clubs in our destination countries, some expenses are unavoidable. I hope you will take part in this sight-saving endeavor by assisting me this year. If you can help with the resources, together we can give the gift of sight to people in need. My goal is to raise $2000.00 by November 1st. Any monies not used specifically for this mission will be donated to our local Lions In Sight.
