Comments on Unite For Sight

As long as you are passionate about it and can talk with enthusiasm about it in an interview, then I don't think its gimmmicky.

I know someone at my school that did it and he thought it was a good program in that he learned a lot and got to do many things.

If international health is one of your passions, then you have probably done your research on sustainable development and and the effects of international volunteer work. A lot of good can be done, even by pre-meds; however, you must be careful in how you choose. Most importantly, if you are paying to volunteer: know where the money goes!! Seriously, know where every penny goes. There are a lot of organizations out there that are not even 501c3's (ProWorld for example) and other's charge excessive amounts (Cross Cultural Solutions) and deliver very little. Also, make sure that the organization has a plan for sustainable development for the communities it is working with. NGO's can do a lot of harm to communities in the developing world.

As far as Unite for Sight, I'm not particularly familiar with them, although I've mostly heard good things.

Check out the attached article, just as a point of interest.

i recommend unite for sight very very very very highly. the first summer was so memorable for me that i signed up for unite for sight the next summer. the second summer was even more memorable so i signed up for this summer. i just did my third trip with unite for sight and it was my favorite trip ever.

the organization does everything right. you help the eye doctors who are native to the countries where you volunteer. they have their own ophthalmology clinics and need help reaching the rural villages. they need your help and are so happy youre there to help them. they welcome you with open arms and are some of the nicest people ive ever met. ive worked with 3 of the clinics now and theyre all special people.

the programs are helping the local docs do the best they can do in their communities. the programs go on all year long and are sustainable and are a great sustainable development model. ive got my mph so i know how to analyze.

you do training so you have all the tools you need to help the eye doctors with what they need help with.

you do cultural competency training so you have cross cultural skills.

you fundraise to help the eye clinics and make a forever lasting impact. every penny of the fundraising is what funds the eye programs that you yourself participate in. you fundraise with a website they give you. you circulate your website all over the internet and people donate in your name.

there are lists and lists of online videos that youve got to watch. http://uniteforsight.org/intl_volunteer/onlinevideos.php
videos of former volunteers talking. videos of the eye docs talking. videos of international health experts talking about unite for sight's huge importance. videos of the programs themselves.

where were you accepted for? pm me if you want. ive been to 3 of the places so i know a lot. ive also been to 3 of the annual conferences so i think ive met almost all the clinic docs at some time.

And there's the program's official spokesperson!

Can the both you please tell me how hard it is to raise the money for the program? I would love to do something like this but I definitely wouldn't have the money to do it.

bigDee said:

Can the both you please tell me how hard it is to raise the money for the program? I would love to do something like this but I definitely wouldn't have the money to do it.

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ive not heard of anyone saying its been hard for them. unite for sight gives you a website of your own to use. i dont think it could be made any easier and straightforward.

your litle effort fundraising makes a forever lasting impact to the people benefiting from the surgeries you fund. you know that youre still making a difference even after youre finished and home and back to your normal life.

this comes from http://uniteforsight.org/intl_volunteer/
# All volunteers raise at least $1,375 for Unite For Sight's international eye care programs. To help with fundraising efforts, Unite For Sight creates a personal donation fundraising page for all of its volunteers (Please see Example 1 and Example 2). Volunteers are usually able to fundraise the full amount within one month.

* Why will I be fundraising?
o 100% of the fundraising efforts of Unite For Sight's volunteers provide poor patients worldwide with free eye care and sight-restoring surgeries. Each cataract surgery costs $50 on average, so every dollar that you fundraise makes a tremendous impact on the lives of children and adults. Additionally, your fundraising efforts help to create public awareness about global eye care needs. Your pre-departure fundraising therefore allows you to make a huge impact before you even arrive in the developing country.

Unite For Site was great. I second what the poster above said.

i went to Patna, Bihar as part of Unite for Sight.

overall, the raising money part was kind of annoying, but it was pretty do-able. My parents ended up paying $400 because raising $1,000+ on my own was just plain impossible, especially since I am a full time student.

Anyways, if you do choose to go on a UFS trip, let me put in my 2 cents:
The experiences are HIGHLY variable according to WHERE you go. Also, know that Jennifer Staple has never been to ANY of these sights, so volunteers are the only ones that have the "true experience" of what it's like to go on those trips. That said, most of these volunteers are in undergrad and have to suck up to everyone around them/say only positive things so that they can publish, get posted, maybe even get a rec letter out of it, and ultimately get into medical school.

I went as a medical student So i had nothing to lose, and all experiences to gain. My friends, also medical students, went to other places (they went for 1+ month, i only went for a week).

The Patna trip was NOT A GOOD EXPERIENCE AND I DO NOT RECOMMEND IT TO ANYONE. Please go to Either Chennai which has one of the BIGGEST CENTERS IN INDIA AND IN THE WORLD or to Africa where you will get a bigger and more appreciated experience. I am Indian and even in Bihar language was a barrier. In addition, Bihar is one of the poorest states in India, which means that electricity and water would just randomly shut down the second we stepped home from clinic (10pm). The website boasts that "bihar is poor and in need of medical care more than other areas of india" which is absolute nonsense. All of India is poor. THat's like saying Louisiana is poor because they have the lowest literacy rates as a whole, when there are parts of New York City (Chennai or Mumbai) that are EVEN POORER (think beggars that just want to eat poor) and equally in need of care. Bihar is rural farmland so their "poverty" is a per-capta kind of poverty, overall the people are happy and fed. Also, unless you are white, the doctor's house you stay at is pretty douchy and also somewhat of a cheat. He overpriced everything, including the $40 stay. There are 5 star luxury hotels in Bihar that cost $20 a night, and they actually do have 24/7 running water, electricity, delicious food, and electricity! Also, the food was pretty bad because you will eat with the grandparents everyday who essentially never have an appetite. I had to ask the maid to make some ramen noodles (cost 2 cents per packet!!) because we were starving. IF YOU GO TO BIHAR, YOU WILL STARVE. you will also feel unsafe if you are not indian. But I dressed so incredibly poorly I was seen as a local and thus felt safe.

Anyways, there are much better programs out there for medical volunteering that 1) don't make you raise a ridiculous amount of money 2) are more organized 3) let you work with top physicians from US MEDICAL SCHOOLS (not foreign medical doctors that can write you a worthless letter of rec).

hope that helps!

Unite for Sight is such a scam. They make you raise literally thousands of dollars and then you spend another few hundred flying there and all they let you do is hand out glasses. They open it up for "all ages" for a reason. A 7 year old could have done my job, and it's intellectually frustrating. Most of the doctors on the trip don't want to teach, and if they do, it's def not worth the trip, money, and time because you get a better learning experience in the States. I could have hired someone to fly to the area I went to for 1/100th of the price. Unite for Sight tries to make itself sound formal with their fancy jargon and (remember, 7 year old could do it) application process with rec letters so you get the feeling that you are accomplishing something huge by being accepted into their "Global Impact Fellow" program (that's really what it's called 😕). Then, they ask that you raise thousands of dollars for them if you want to go on the trip. The money you raise goes straight into their pockets. When you visit the 3rd world nation that you volunteer at, you have no idea exactly where the money you raised goes, and if you ask anyone, they are super shady about it. In reality, a lot of money that you raise gets leaked into the wrong places, like paying for lavish vacations of the physicians you work with, or their homes. I did not enjoy my UFS experience as a glasses-hand out volunteer, err i mean "global impact fellow", i highly discourage it to anyone above the age of 15, because it really is an insult to your intelligence. above all, if you are a medical student, it is the worst health-related medical experience you can possibly have.