February 2025 Newsletter

This was a short month and we ran out of time to produce the newsletter! We proudly feature recognitions to our volunteers from Lebanon and the USA and share reports from humanitarian work including one between our US and Nicaraguan chapters. We are humbled by our growth with a new SVOSH chapter in Colombia. We are excited about a significant donation by Eye Design Group and continue learning about Retinopathy of Prematurity with Prevent Blindness. If you are attending the AOA meeting-WCO Congress consider attending our short meeting there. The editor of the newsletter apologizes for the delay. Please send us news to vosh@vosh.org.

Book the date- Midyear Meeting in Minneapolis

This year’s midyear meeting will be held on Saturday, June 28^th in the early afternoon. The rich program of the combined AOA’s Optometry’s Meeting and the WCO Congress will attract many attendees. Our meeting will avoid clashes with this program. More details on the venue and specific times will be available soon. VOSH members attending the AOA meeting are welcome to participate. You can contact Maria Arce, Executive Director at vosh@vosh.org for further information.

News from our chapters

The President of VOSH-Lebanon is recognized as a Young Systems Leader by the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindnes

We extend our warmest congratulations to Ameer Abou Adela, founder and President of the Vision Care Association and of the VOSH-Lebanon chapter on being recognized as a Young Systems Leader by IAPB. Ameer’s contagious energy and commitment to offering eye health services to Lebanese people and sharing knowledge across the Eastern Mediterranean region make him an excellent role model for young optometrists across the world.

Read more about this significant achievement here

The IAPB Young Systems Leader awards seek to raise the profile of early-career eye health professionals who demonstrate an aptitude and motivation to drive a systems mindset through their work – whether through their organisation, peers, or own professional development.

A new SVOSH chapter at the Fundación Universitaria del Área Andina, Bogotá, Colombia

We are delighted to welcome our 114 chapter. The new chapter SVOSH-Areandina-Bogotá brings significant humanitarian outreach and awareness-raising experience. We extend a warm welcome to this new chapter. The faculty adviser is Dr. Sandra Ortiz (saortiz3@areandia.edu.co)

Bienvenidos!!

VOSH-CT returns to Nicaragua and is joined by a team of SVOSH-UNAN

Last January, VOSH-CT returned to San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua. In this opportunity, they were joined by Nicaraguan students and a graduate from the SVOSH chapter at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Nicaragua, Managua campus, SVOSH-UNAN. We are delighted to have this collaboration between a VOSH and an SVOSH chapter and look forward to supporting this type of collaboration more often. A total of 3,937 patients were seen over four days.

Read the article on this collaboration here.

VOSH-PCO trip to Jamaica featured by ASCO’s newsletter

SVOSH-PCO went to Jamaica last October. President, Nicole Trifilio and Vice-President, Mariam Majid share their experience in this article. The SVOSH team included 20 students and 3 faculty members. They joined a bigger group of volunteers, including a five-person surgical team. They saw 1,991 patients including 84 referrals for surgeries and dispensed 866 prescription glasses and hundreds of screenings for diabetes and hypertension. Read the whole article here.

VOSH-MN member is recognized by local TV award

Dr. Kari Torkelson, a member of VOSH-MN, was recognized as Nice Person of the Week and featured in North Dakota Today. Congratulations to DR. Torkelson who represents the commitment of all VOSH volunteers.

You can read the blog here and watch the TV feature here.

News from our partners

Eye Design Group donates 90,000 frames to VOSH/International

We are delighted to announce that we received a significant donation of frames from the Eye Design Group. We are grateful for this important support. The process to request the frames will be shared in the next newsletter. You can read the announcement of this donation here.

Thank you Eye Design Group!!

Interesting resources on Retinopathy of Prematurity

Prevent Blindness has produced interesting resources in English and Spanish about this eye condition that affects premature infants. You can find more information in this article or visiting their website.

Our network is growing bringing a significant diversity of experience and knowledge. We love to hear from you and your work. Please send us information on your activities and needs. Contact the Executive Director at vosh@vosh.org.

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