Looking For International Volunteer Opportunities?

[uniteforsight]

Hi everyone,

Many of you may be interested in this volunteer opportunity.

What is Unite For Sight's Mission? Unite For Sight (www.uniteforsight.org) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that empowers communities worldwide to improve eye health and eliminate preventable blindness.

What Do Volunteers Do?: Unite For Sight’s volunteers range from students, nurses, and public health professionals to optometrists and ophthalmologists. The volunteers serve as interns at eye clinics. The eye clinic’s eye doctors and Unite For Sight volunteers jointly participate on community-based screening programs. The clinic’s eye doctors diagnose and treat eye disease in the field, and surgical patients are brought to the eye clinic for surgery. Unite For Sight funds the surgeries for those patients unable to afford eye care.

How Do I Apply? The application as well as complete details about Unite For Sight's international opportunities are available at http://www.uniteforsight.org/intl_volunteer/

What Do Volunteers Say?: "Working with the eye clinic's team, we were able to treat over 1000 patients and perform sight-restoring cataract surgery on hundreds of patients! I saw more pathology than I will probably ever see as a resident in the U.S. Going to India was one of the best decisions of my life. The satisfaction of giving the gift of sight back to someone who was practically blind is immeasurable. For the first time in over 10 years, a frail and elderly female villager was able to see her reflection in the mirror. She stood up and walked out of the hospital without the help of the nurses, holding a small plastic bag filled with her life belongings, close against her green sari. This memory I will never forget. It was at that point that I realized the significance of why we were there and what we had done. We made a difference." --Walid Mangal, Medical Student, Unite For Sight Volunteer in Chennai and Erode, India

What Do Eye Clinics Say?: "So many people tell me to thank you and your family each day for the help you have given by giving sight to the poor. Our desire to serve and poor patients desire to see would not have been possible without the help and support of Unite For Sight." --Dr. Ajit Sinha, Director, A.B. Eye Institute; President, All India Ophthalmological Society

What Programs Are Available?

_Spring and Summer 2006 Programs With Available Positions_
Rolling Application Deadline - The First Qualified Applicants Will Be Accepted. Positions are filling quickly.
*Spring 2006*
_Asia_
Bhubaneswar, India: February 1-28; March 10 - May 1
Chennai, India: March and April - Flexible Dates for 2 weeks or more
Bihar, India: Flexible dates for 10 days

*Summer 2006 (Note: Volunteers may participate in more than 1 session)*

_Asia_
Bhubaneswar, India: May 15 - June 15; June 15 - July 15; July 15 - August 15
Chennai, India: May 10 - May 30; June 1-30; July 1-31; August 1-25
Bihar, India: Flexible dates for 2 weeks
Erode, India: June 15 - July 15
Hyderabad, India: July 1-30
New Delhi, India: June 1-30; July 1-31
Jodhpur, India: July 1 - August 1; August 1-25
Western Thailand: July 1 - August 15

_Africa_
Tamale, Ghana: May 20 - July 1; July 1 - August 15
Patriensa, Ghana: May 1-30; June 1-30; July 1-31; August 1-31
Accra, Ghana: July 1 - August 1; August 1 - September 15

*Fall 2006 (Note: Volunteers may participate in more than 1 session)*

_Asia_
Bhubaneswar, India: October 1 - December 20
Chennai, India: September 1-30; October 1-31; November 1-30
Nagpur, India: October 1-31
Bihar, India: Flexible dates for 10 days

_Africa_
Tamale, Ghana: August 15 - October 15; October 15 - December 15
Patriensa, Ghana: September 1-30; October 1-31; November 1-30

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Members don't see this ad.

 

[themadchemist]

OK, so I'm usually against this blatant advertising, BUT

I did a Unite for Sight internship this past summer and it was amazing. I highly, highly recommend it. I looked at a lot of programs and Unite for Sight requires the smallest donation and provides the best experience.

 

[mspaic]

ya i was thinking of doing somethin like that during the summer of 2007

here is anohter site one might consider:

http://www.projects-abroad.org/projects/medicine.php

do med schools like ppl with this kind of experience?

 

[themadchemist]

ya i was thinking of doing somethin like that during the summer of 2007

here is anohter site one might consider:

http://www.projects-abroad.org/projects/medicine.php

do med schools like ppl with this kind of experience?

Wow. These guys are waaaay more expensive than Unite for Sight. And yes, I think that med schools like this stuff, plus, I think you get way more exposure than you can in the US. I didn't really understand why I wanted to be a doctor until my experience abroad.

 

[gujuDoc]

Hi everyone,

Many of you may be interested in this volunteer opportunity.

What is Unite For Sight's Mission? Unite For Sight (www.uniteforsight.org) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that empowers communities worldwide to improve eye health and eliminate preventable blindness.

What Do Volunteers Do?: Unite For Sight’s volunteers range from students, nurses, and public health professionals to optometrists and ophthalmologists. The volunteers serve as interns at eye clinics. The eye clinic’s eye doctors and Unite For Sight volunteers jointly participate on community-based screening programs. The clinic’s eye doctors diagnose and treat eye disease in the field, and surgical patients are brought to the eye clinic for surgery. Unite For Sight funds the surgeries for those patients unable to afford eye care.

How Do I Apply? The application as well as complete details about Unite For Sight's international opportunities are available at http://www.uniteforsight.org/intl_volunteer/

What Do Volunteers Say?: "Working with the eye clinic's team, we were able to treat over 1000 patients and perform sight-restoring cataract surgery on hundreds of patients! I saw more pathology than I will probably ever see as a resident in the U.S. Going to India was one of the best decisions of my life. The satisfaction of giving the gift of sight back to someone who was practically blind is immeasurable. For the first time in over 10 years, a frail and elderly female villager was able to see her reflection in the mirror. She stood up and walked out of the hospital without the help of the nurses, holding a small plastic bag filled with her life belongings, close against her green sari. This memory I will never forget. It was at that point that I realized the significance of why we were there and what we had done. We made a difference." --Walid Mangal, Medical Student, Unite For Sight Volunteer in Chennai and Erode, India

What Do Eye Clinics Say?: "So many people tell me to thank you and your family each day for the help you have given by giving sight to the poor. Our desire to serve and poor patients desire to see would not have been possible without the help and support of Unite For Sight." --Dr. Ajit Sinha, Director, A.B. Eye Institute; President, All India Ophthalmological Society

What Programs Are Available?

_Spring and Summer 2006 Programs With Available Positions_
Rolling Application Deadline - The First Qualified Applicants Will Be Accepted. Positions are filling quickly.
*Spring 2006*
_Asia_
Bhubaneswar, India: February 1-28; March 10 - May 1
Chennai, India: March and April - Flexible Dates for 2 weeks or more
Bihar, India: Flexible dates for 10 days

*Summer 2006 (Note: Volunteers may participate in more than 1 session)*

_Asia_
Bhubaneswar, India: May 15 - June 15; June 15 - July 15; July 15 - August 15
Chennai, India: May 10 - May 30; June 1-30; July 1-31; August 1-25
Bihar, India: Flexible dates for 2 weeks
Erode, India: June 15 - July 15
Hyderabad, India: July 1-30
New Delhi, India: June 1-30; July 1-31
Jodhpur, India: July 1 - August 1; August 1-25
Western Thailand: July 1 - August 15

_Africa_
Tamale, Ghana: May 20 - July 1; July 1 - August 15
Patriensa, Ghana: May 1-30; June 1-30; July 1-31; August 1-31
Accra, Ghana: July 1 - August 1; August 1 - September 15

*Fall 2006 (Note: Volunteers may participate in more than 1 session)*



_Asia_
Bhubaneswar, India: October 1 - December 20
Chennai, India: September 1-30; October 1-31; November 1-30
Nagpur, India: October 1-31
Bihar, India: Flexible dates for 10 days

_Africa_
Tamale, Ghana: August 15 - October 15; October 15 - December 15
Patriensa, Ghana: September 1-30; October 1-31; November 1-30

Yeah a friend of mine did this during the summer that just passed. They really liked it too. I was just telling my uncle that my cousin should do this since he said he's a bit interested in rural india.

 

[premeder]

Me and my 3 friends went to 4 different places last summer with unite for sight and we all said it was the best experience of our lives. The organisation is really well organized and you know that the entire process [bringing eye glasses, raising money, and working overseas] is REALLY making a big difference. You see it every day when you're there.

I'm going to a different country with Unite for Sight this summer. I know that it's going to be another memorable summer.

 

[premeder]

I though I'd add that unite for sight has a really great conference coming the first weekend in April at Yale. I went last year and it was a blast. I am going this year again too. The conference has HUGE speakers on everything international health related and is great for networking with everyone from students to doctors. The whole schedule is at http://www.uniteforsight.org/2006_annual_conference.php

 

[gujuDoc]

Good to know!!!!! Thanks for the tip.

 

[premeder]

I got some PMs and thought I'd write some answers here in case anyone else had the same questions. You should definitly PM me if you have questions.

Q about eye glass requirement

To get glasses, all you need is to contact a Lion's Club near your hometown. You'll get a big box of glasses shipped to your front door.

Q about fundraising
For fundraising, it's much easier than it seems. last year one of the people in my group raised $4000! that was 200 cataract surgeries for people who were blind. you will be surprised how much your friends want to support this kind of work. unite for sight now makes a website for all of their volunteers so you can send it to friends so they can donate online. i think that is how most people fundraise now, just by e-mailing the link to people who forward it to their friends, and the chain continues. things like bake sales are also easy fundraisers.

If you look at other volunteer organisations you will find that they are very expensive. unite for sight only requires you to fundraise for cataract surgeries so you know that your money is going to a really good cause. you don't have to pay unite for sight a "program fee" like other organisations who make you pay thousands of dollars up front and you never know what they do with your money. unite for sight is a charitable cause and you know that your efforts fundrdaising are making a big difference.

Q about academic credit

my school doesn't give academic credit for summer internships, but i know that a lot of schools do. i think you would have to talk to your school about what you need to do in order to get the academic credit.

Q about application deadline

it's considered "rolling" which means that you should apply as soon as you can before the slots are all filled. last year i applied around this time before i went back to school.

 

[premeder]

i got a PM Q about living accomodations

last year we stayed in a nice guest house. every location has a different living accomodation. you can click on view details on the unite for sight website to see the accomodation at the place where you want to go. you pay for the cost but the eye clinic reserves your room. you can usually pick if you want a single or double room

 

[uniteforsight]

Thank you to themadchemist and premeder for your service to Unite For Sight last summer! Hoping to work with many others from SDN this summer.

 

[DropkickMurphy]

The volunteers serve as interns at eye clinics. The eye clinic’s eye doctors and Unite For Sight volunteers jointly participate on community-based screening programs.

Can you be a little more specific in what exactly a volunteer would be doing? Because "jointly participating" can be construed to mean many, many things and for the cost of one of the trips one must be careful about what they are expected to be doing.

 

[uniteforsight]

The volunteers work with the eye doctors to provide screening for cataracts and eye disease. Volunteers participate in all parts of the screening process, including testing visual acuity, screening for cataracts and other eye disease, distributing eyeglasses and sunglasses, bringing the patients to the eye clinic, observing surgery, bringing the patients home, etc. You can read stories from previous volunteers at http://www.uniteforsight.org/intl_volunteer/

Recently one of the eye clinics gave the volunteers goat eyes so that they could do cataract surgery, too. Ophthalmologists in training practice surgeries on goat eyes in India, and the volunteers were given this opportunity as well.

Please let me know if any additional information will be helpful.