We are a group of optometry students at Pacific University who have been highly involved with AMIGOS Eye Care, a 501(c)(3) non-profit student-led organization at Pacific University in affiliation with VOSH International. Established in 1975, our mission was, and still is, to provide vision and medical eye care to underserved populations locally and abroad. It has been an incredibly rewarding and humbling clinical experience. AMIGOS Eye Care is one of the most successful student chapters in North America and completes eight trips a year globally and locally. Since its inception, we have served over 140,000 people worldwide. This past summer AMIGOS, in partnership with Enfoque Ixcàn, set forth on our first international eye care mission trip since the COVID-19 pandemic. Over one week, we provided vision care to 755 individuals in rural areas of Guatemala previously devoid of eye care. Many received free prescription glasses and sunglasses and 50 were referred for cataract surgery.

Enfoque Ixcán (EI) and AMIGOS Eye Care have a long history of working productively and collaboratively together in Guatemala. EI is a US and Guatemalan non-profit operating out of Playa Grande, Ixcán, Guatemala and has been supporting and building eye care services in this region for nearly 25 years. EI trains community health workers to provide vision care to the remote, rural population of indigenous Maya that live in the area. The first EI and AMIGOS collaborative service trip to Ixcán was in 2004 making this the 19th consecutive trip. During this time, EI has made strong relationships within the Guatemalan community and built the very first eye clinic in the area.

A gift of any amount will help cover expenses related to travel, lodging, food, and equipment for our team of dedicated optometry students. We thank you kindly for your consideration and appreciate your contribution to our efforts.

If you would like to donate in the United States dollar (USD), please visit this link:

https://gofund.me/3bc216e5