Nepal project sets its sights on remote-area eye clinics
09/04/2015
The 24-person medical expedition is a project of New York-based non-profit organisation Dooley Intermed International. Its aim is to offer 1,500 people living in the region free eye-screening examinations, glasses and sight-restoring surgery.
Sherpa Adventure Gear will outfit the team with functional outdoor clothing that the brand says will suit the job at hand very well, with numerous pockets for the supplies and instruments the medical professionals will need in the eye clinics. The brand sponsored a similar project in 2013.
“We are absolutely honoured to support this important work in Nepal again,” said Tashi Sherpa, founder and president of Sherpa Adventure Gear. “We look forward to welcoming the team in Kathmandu and giving them a send off that recognises the value of their mission of sight.”
Scott Hamilton, president of Dooley Intermed, has said there is a huge demand for eye care in Nepal, especially in hard-to-reach areas. He said in comments to a US magazine last year: “I never
set out to be a humanitarian but when you go to these places and see a need that’s enormous, and you know that you can do something about it, a light comes on.”
According to Hamilton, an estimated 80% of blindness in Nepal is avoidable or curable. A major cause of blindness is cataracts, which can be surgically repaired. There are also many people, young and old, who suffer from easily corrected vision problems.
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