Vision impairment is a global health crisis. 1/3 of the world's population - 2.5 billion people - live with uncorrected vision impairment and its consequences. 1 billion people need only reading glasses to correct their vision. Of those, over 500 million live in impoverished, rural communities and lack access to reading glasses. With poor vision, a person cannot read, learn, work, or perform critical daily tasks, making employment and caring for a family challenging if not impossible.
This project will transform the lives of 20,000 people by giving them the gift of sight. Studies indicate that restoring sight leads to a 30% increase in productivity and 20% increase in income. Glasses can particularly empower women and girls in developing countries as clear vision can increase educational attainment, employability, and economic independence. RestoringVision is the only non-profit provider of free, new, high-quality reading glasses for villagers around the world.
At RestoringVision we believe that to solve any global health problem, it takes a village - a community of organizations working together to make the world a better place. We have created an efficient distribution network by partnering with the optical industry and more than 1,400 non-profit organizations to bring glasses to those in need. This model can immediately correct vision which can lead to an annual boost of $202 billion to the global economy and result in far reaching positive impacts.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
New York Times Article: Vision Crisis/Eyeglasses
Global Health Study: Presbyopia and Tea Workers