Over 50 Children Helped in Colombia
Last month, we were able to support a mission trip to Bogota, Colombia. Nicolas Huertas, from the nonprofit organization Santi’s Wish Foundation, located in Miami, Florida, traveled to the South American country with seven volunteers. In just one day, they were able to screen 56 children and provide them with glasses and sunglasses.
The volunteer optometrist encountered a variety of conditions, including strabismus (commonly known as crossed eyes, a condition in which the eyes do not properly align with each other when looking at an object), and one special case of keratoconus (a condition in which the clear tissue on the front of the eye bulges outward), leaving the child practically blind all these years.
We were able to support this mission trip to Bogota, Colombia with a donation of glasses and an auto-refractor on loan.
Testimonial
“During our visit to a school in Bogota, we assisted 56 kids in need of glasses. The doctor encountered a special case where the child had keratoconus, leaving him practically blind his entire life. With the help of Santi’s Wish Foundation, we were able to contact a lab in Miami that created the lenses for this child’s glasses. Thanks to the collaboration of National Vision, we were able to see so many kids in one day due to the assistance of an auto-refractor that sped up the screening process. Children were also able to pick out readers that were donated by National Vision. The mission was a complete success!”
Nicolas Huertas, President – Santi’s Wish Foundation
About Colombia
Image Credit: US Dept of State
Colombia is a country located in the northwest corner of South America, with territories in Central America. Colombia shares a border to the northwest with Panama, to the east with Venezuela and Brazil, and to the south with Ecuador and Peru.
Bogota is the capital and largest city in Colombia, and the political, economic, administrative, industrial, artistic, cultural, and sports center of the country. Bogota is located in the center of the country, on a high plateau in the Eastern Cordillera of the Andes mountains. It is the third-highest capital in South America (after Quito, Ecuador and Sucre, Bolivia), and has a relatively fresh climate that is constant over the year.
As is the case in many Latin American countries, visual impairment in Colombia is attributable to treatable conditions such as cataracts, refractive errors, diabetic retinopathy, and glaucoma. However, optometry as a profession is well-defined and well-regulated. In fact, the second oldest optometry school in Latin America is in Colombia.
More Pictures from Colombia
Jessica Altamirano
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