Vison For All: Report of the Ghana, Cameroon and Nigeria Mission -
April to May 2024
Los Angeles/June 12, 2024
NRIpress.club/Ramesh/A.Gary Singh
Dates: I - Ghana: April 21 to 26, II - Cameroon- April 29 to May 3, III - Nigeria: May 5 to 11.
The services: 70,854 children/staff were screened, 3,791 eyeglasses were given& 10,717 were referred/seen by Optometrists. More eyeglasses will be given later.
|
Ghana |
Cameroon |
Nigeria |
No. of Children/Staff
Screened |
18,844 |
14,337 |
37,673 |
Nos. Referred/Seen by
Optometrists |
4,055 |
997 |
10,717 (Approx.) |
Nos. of Eyeglasses Given |
1,401 |
507 |
3,791 (Approx.) |
US Volunteers- A. Medical professionals: Dr. Nitin Shah & Dr. Anil Punjabi B. Nonmedical: Nishith Choksi, Kinna Gandhi, Dipak Patel, Sadhana Patel, Mahesh Wadher, Usha Wadher, Jayana Shah, ChaNelle Baines, Umesh Amin.
Non-US Volunteers: Jasmin Sharma- Bengaluru (MSI), Nawina Mulova- Zambia.
Sponsors: Tarsadia Foundation, Sarva Mangal Family Trust (Sponsor of all Eyeglasses), Ashok& Madhu Patel, Dr. Bharat Patel, Chanda and Dr. Bharat Patel, Jyoti & Dhiren Shah, and others Local Organizations: Ghana - Watborg Services; Dr. Boteng Wiafe; Pharmanova; Mr. Chandrashekharbhai. Cameroon - President of West Region, Cameroon; Dr. Focka Focka; Dr. Mrs. Josephine Focka; Mr. Patrick Yomba. Nigeria - Rotary Club of Lagos-Palmgrove Estate; Indoeyecare Foundation.
Screening for Anemia: In Cameroon, employing Masimo’s devices that measure Hemoglobin noninvasively, 599 young girls were screened. 36 were identified who needed attention.
In all, 70,854 Children/Staff were impacted by this successful 21-day ‘Vision For All’ Mission & 599 young girls were helped for anemia screening. This would not have been possible without the support of volunteers, donors, local organizations, well
wishers and healthcare professionals who contributed to this mission.
Click here for a video from the Oregun Junior High School in Nigeria (taken on May 8th).
Vision For All: Report of the Jamaica Mission - May 2024
The 8th Cataract Surgery Mission in Jamaica took place from May 25th to 27th , 2024. The goal was to perform 600 cataract surgeries in three days. In total, 611 cataracts and 1,305 vision screenings were conducted, and 610 eyeglasses were given. 2,526 people were impacted by this three-day mission. This would not have been possible without the support of the volunteers, donors, local organizations, well wishers and healthcare professionals who contributed to this mission. Below is the list of this mission’s volunteers and sponsors.
Volunteers: A. Ophthalmologists: Drs. Vipul, Nirav, and Aanal; B. Anesthesiologist: Dr. Nitin; C. CRNA’s: Liz, Johnny, and Amy; D. LVN: Ashley; E. Nonmedical: Dipak, Sadhna, Nishith, and Ivan Sponsors: Drs. Kiran and Pallavi Patel Family Foundation, MBS Ministry, Anekant Community Center, Aparigrah Foundation, and Mandeville Regional Hospital
The below table shows the services provided in Jamaica from all eight missions:
Mission No. |
Year |
Cataracts |
Vision Screening |
Eyeglasses |
Anemia Screening |
1 |
2014 |
225 |
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2 |
2015 |
227 |
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3 |
2017 |
257 |
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4 |
2018 |
337 |
1,853 |
756 |
------------------- |
5 |
2019 |
368 |
1,703 |
1,005 |
------------------- |
6 |
2022 |
479 |
1,060 |
555 |
312 |
7 |
2023 |
577 |
2,001 |
848 |
487 |
8 |
2024 |
611 |
1,305 |
610 |
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Hello all, Vision for All, Report of Ghana
Our quest to Screen 70,000 children, teachers and staff in three African countries is progressing very well. Attached are four pictures from Ghana. In five days we have screened 18,659 children/teachers/staff, 3873 were referred and seen by Optometrists and so far 1495 eyeglasses have been distributed and more will be given later by Dr. Boateng Wiafe’s team. Umesh Amin, Kinna Gandhi, Dr. Nitin Shah were from USA and Ms. Jasmin Sharma came from Bengluru. Four people’s team from outside worked with several local volunteers for the mission. Thank you to all donors and well wishers.
The march to 70,000 continues - greetings from Cameroon.
Dear Friends,
Exciting news from our Vision for All Mission in Cameroon!
In just five days, our team impacted 14,058 lives across 11 schools. Over half of 997 individuals, received optometrist care during the mission, with 407 set to receive eyeglasses which will be distributed by Dr. Jules Hilarie Focka, President of the West Regional Council of Cameroon and his team.
In a focused effort, we screened 599 young girls for anemia over two days, identifying 36 cases in need of immediate attention.
Led by Dr. Nitin Shah, Dr. Anil Punjabi, Kinna Gandhi, Chanelle Baines, and Jasmin Sharma, alongside local volunteers, our team displayed extraordinary dedication.
To our donors and well-wishers: your support fuels this mission and brightens countless futures.
Thank you for being part of this transformative journey.
Nigeria, we're coming for the remaining 37,283 – with 32,717 already screened!
During our health mission in Cameroon, a standout moment occurred: Plastic Surgeon Dr. Anil Punjabi skillfully removed keloids from a 12-year-old girl's ears. This procedure not only improved her appearance but also boosted her confidence and quality of life.
Vision for all - third and last country - Nigeria! We could screen 37,673 children and staff over 5 days. We fell sort of our goal of 50,000 only because children were not available due to variety of reasons. Nevertheless we were able to reach our goal of 70,000 as predicted months ago in three countries! Thank you all for your contributions towards a milestone that we could achieve. Nine volunteers were from the US - Mahesh & Usha Wadher, Dipak & Sadhan Patel, Nishith Choksi, Jayana Shah, ChaNelle Baines, Kinna Gandhi & Dr. Nitin Shah, Jasmin Sharma from Bengkuru (MSI) and Nawina Mulova from Zambia. This remains a very humbling experience as we has to overcome many challenges including over 90 degree F heat in schools with many without electricity and running water. Bless all the overseas and many local volunteers who worked tirelessly come rain come shine. Incidentally it rained for one day in all three countries and still we made it! Thank you for your blessings.

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