VOSH is Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity. The primary mission of VOSH is to facilitate the provision and the sustainability of vision care worldwide for people who can neither afford nor obtain such care. In other words, bringing the world into focus.
Dr Michael Ciszek and his husband, Randall Jackson, have been on several missions to North, Central and South America (or Latin America) to provide optometric services to people in need who cannot afford or lack access to care. They also bring refurbished prescription glasses, donated medicines, and eye care devices – all of which are in high demand. All VOSH services and materials are always provided at no charge. In 2014, VOSH Illinois pioneered making complete glasses in a field lab using a belt sander and a beveler. It was a great success, and the Illinois teams hope to export the idea to other VOSH chapters.
If you have further questions or are ready to participate, please contact Dr Ciszek here.
Learn more about the organizations below and thanks for your interest in helping VOSH Illinois.
VOSH/International Website
VOSH Illinois Website
VOSH Illinois has collected all the numbers and submitted the official report for Guatemala 2015. The Impact Report shows how 4 days can change the lives of over 900 people.
Also from 2015, we got the human point of view from Janet Muchnik. She wrote VOSH-Illinois’s Mission to Guatemala: Chronicles of a Volunteer. It is a worthy read encompassing the camaraderie, dedication, joy and boots-on-the-ground of a VOSH clinic.
