A group of optometry students from TU Dublin are fundraising for a trip to Kolkata in India to volunteer at a local eye clinic.
The GoFundme campaign has been set up by four students, Abby Gorman, Oisin Casey, Omima Mukassabi, and Izzy Healy from TU Dublin who are set to do volunteer work with charity Hope and Specsavers by carrying out eye exams in Kolkata. The group are planning to travel to Kolkata in India with their lecturer Dr. Catriona Barrett on November 26.
Speaking to Dublin Live, student Omima Mukassabi said that they are all "very excited" at the opportunity to go to Kolkata. She said: "All of us are in third year at TU Dublin, three of us are in the optometry course and one is studying optical dispensing.
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"We're going with our lecturer Dr Catriona Barrett on November 26 coming, we're going to be there for one week so coming home on 3 December. We want to use the tools and we've learned in our degree to help those who are less fortunate.
"The local people there have a hospital/eye clinic set up in Kolkata, the local people come in and you try to meet as many people on the day testing their eyes and getting them glasses.
"It's a brilliant cause, it's actually incredible what the whole foundation is doing for these people." The students have reached their initial target on the GoFundMe, but they are welcoming any donations in order to get the best equipment possible which includes a new tonometer which tests eye pressure.
Omima said: "We're all so excited and thrilled to be getting this opportunity." In a statement on the GoFundme page the students state: “We are volunteering with Hope/Specsavers to go to Kolkata and carry out eye exams and provide the people of Kolkata with much-needed eye care.
"Unfortunately, in Kolkata the leading cause of blindness is not having a pair of glasses; many people in this area have never even had an eye exam. So our aim is to provide as many individuals with their own pair of glasses as well as an eye exam which includes checking the health of the eye.”
"The Hope Foundation is dedicated to promoting the protection of street connected and slum dwelling communities in Kolkata, some of the most underprivileged in India. Hope works to effect immediate and lasting change in their lives. To date Hope has helped over 2.8 million people, by extending support to children and their communities via 60 on the ground projects, Hope provides sustainable holistic solutions to their protection and development, and by donating you can help be a part of this change.
“As part of this, we hope to gift the eye care facility of Kolkata a Tonometer (a machine used to test eye pressure). This would advance their eye clinics and aid in helping detect eye conditions earlier, and we need your help in funding this piece of equipment.”
To donate to the GoFundMe, you can click here.
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