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Dear friends,
One a trip to a small village in
Southern Guatemala, a young mother
brought her four year old daughter into
a clinic which had been set up by our
team of VOSH volunteers in the local
schoolhouse. While it was evident the
child had Down’s Syndrome, I was told
via the translator that the child was
“blind”. The small child’s gaze jerked
and darted about as her mother held her
fidgeting body tightly to her lap.
Within a few moments of scanning a
diagnostic light in her eyes, I realized
that this beautiful child had a very
high myopic prescription. Her reaction
upon placing the delicate glasses on her
face was one I will never forget. An
incredible calm overcame the small girl,
and it felt like a warm light was
suddenly turned on. Her eyes widened and
she began to slowly move her head as she
gazed around the room for the first
time. Her mother’s reaction too was one
of joy as she realized her infant
daughter could now see. The feeling in
the room at that moment in time was
almost surreal and so wonderful that it
is one that I hope to hold deep in my
heart for always.
After running the
113th Boston Marathon (my sixth) in 3:55 on
April 20, I am happy I decided to dedicate my
run again to raising funds for VOSH-ONE
(Volunteer Optometric Service to
Humanity of New England). My
determination to train for and run the
grueling 26.2 miles from Hopkinton to
Boston parallels my intent to continue
the battle against preventable blindness
in the world. There are literally
millions of people in the impoverished
third world, who by our standards are
considered legally blind, many of whom
can be helped with the provision of
simple eyeglasses. My recent trip to
Antigua, Guatemala was my seventh to
Central America. Our group of six
doctors examined one thousand patients
and dispensed as many glasses and eye
medications as were needed
Please
consider making a donation to VOSH-ONE.
Your contribution would be so
appreciated as it would give our
organization the ability to help
continue our battle and to provide the
gift of sight to so many people who
otherwise would remain blind. VOSH is
a501(c3) organization run entirely by
volunteers who receive no financial
compensation whatsoever.
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