What we do

What is it about?

• WHAT: group mission in which a multidisciplinary team travel to provide a first experience in ophthalmic services (eye exams, pairs of glasses, medication and sometimes surgeries) to disadvantaged people
• DURATION: 1 to 2 weeks
• WHERE: in a developing country, more precisely in a region where no visual service is available
• OBJECTIVE: to examine between 1,800 and 2,000 patients
• BY WHOM: 25 volunteers; ophthalmologists, optometrists, opticians, medical doctors, nurses, logisticians and other professionals.
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Preparation of a one-time project

A lot of upstream work has to be done to realize and organize a project of this scale. Usually, an IRIS Mundial representative must be sent on-site to carry out an exploratory mission and obtain the majority of the information needed. When all the conditions are met, four mission managers create a committee to establish timelines and start implementing the next steps:

• Send a call for applications to recruit the members of the team;
• Organize used glasses preparation workshops at the warehouse to build a bank of more than 6,000 pairs of glasses;
• Contact suppliers to obtain ocular and systemic medications, as well as surgical equipment if the project entails a surgical aspect;
• Prepare the mission trays with the pairs of glasses, but also the ophthalmological equipment, as well as all the logistical material necessary for the mission;
• Work with the local partner on procedures for obtaining official authorizations to realize the mission as well as the licence to practise for professionals, etc.;
• Create and provide an intercultural pre-departure training for volunteers;