Local eye specialists to give gift of sight to 600 children in Pakistan

Tuesday 14 March 2023

A trio of local medical professionals are set to embark on an eight-day trip to Pakistan where they hope to provide eye tests and glasses to over 600 underprivileged children in the region — many of whom would not otherwise have access to eye care.

Next week, local orthoptist Sarah Evans will be travelling to Lahore in Pakistan with optometrist Sarah Lake to meet their former colleague, ophthalmologist Asim Shami.

The trio met whilst working together at the Jersey General Hospital. Whilst Mrs Evans and Miss Lake still work at the hospital, Mr Shami now lives in Lahore for part of the year.

He will therefore be housing his former colleagues as the trio visit surrounding schools and orphanages to test vision and provide glasses to children who need them.

Pictured: Optometrist Sarah Lake (left) and orthoptist Sarah Evans (right) have been fundraising to pay for glasses, lenses, and equipment to take to Lahore.

In preparation for the trip, the group have collected over 400 pairs of glasses in Jersey to take to Pakistan.

Paediatric eye specialist, Mrs Evans explained that many of the glasses have been already fitted with lenses with common prescriptions, so the children will receive a "best fit prescription" after having their eyes tested.

Children with a less common prescription will have their glasses fitted with the correct prescription lenses in Pakistan. 

The two Sarahs have been working hard over the last few months to raise money to pay for glasses, lenses, and equipment — including launching a pintrest-inspired 'blind date with a book' initiative.

The co-workers are self-funding the price of their trip, including paying for their own flights, which means that every penny of the money raised goes directly to the children in Pakistan.

"We initially hoped to raise £1,000," said Mrs Evans. "But we've actually managed to collect about £2,500!"

Pictured: "We initially hoped to raise £1,000, but we've actually managed to collect about £2,500!"

"I've never done anything like this before but it isn't uncommon," said Mrs Evans. "You often hear about people in the optometry profession doing similar things, so the inspiration actually came from us all chatting about it and Asim saying: 'We could do that!'"

However, many others who embark on similar trips often do so through agencies, but the Jersey group have planned everything independently.

"We've saved a lot of money on the admin costs by organising everything ourselves," explained Mrs Evans. "It's worked well because Asim already has all of the necessary contacts in the region."

The islanders have also saved money on accommodation by being able to stay at Asim's family home in Lahore.

"It's been really time consuming sorting through hundreds and hundreds of glasses," Mrs Evans admitted. "But I think we're about ready to go now!"

She added: "I can't wait! This has been in the pipeline for months and months, so I can't believe it's finally happening."

Pictured: The 'blind date with a book' initiative helped raised over £1,000 to go towards glasses, lenses, and equipment for the trip.

Looking to the future, the trio hope to return to Pakistan and expand the programme out of the city and into more rural areas.

"This is like the trial version," explained Mrs Evans. "If it all goes well, we can go back again to help children in the rural areas that have even less access to healthcare than those in the big cities."

For now, the trio can't wait to get started.

Mrs Evan said: "My day job in the hospital has become a lot more management-based now, so I'm just really looking forward to getting stuck in and helping loads of kids!"