Giving The Gift Of Sight To Guatemala
In 2019, Dr Nadeem Ali sat at his laptop one evening and typed ‘charity school Guatemala’ into Google. What popped up on his screen was the School of Hope website. After reading about our programs he made contact with our Project Director and was impressed by her infectious enthusiasm. She explained that finding organizations to provide vision screenings in Guatemala was possible, but it was prohibitively expensive to fund the glasses needed.
From that initial conversation, despite the pandemic delays, Dr Ali was inspired and determined to lead a team of eye care professionals to visit our school and deliver the gift of clear sight. He knew their expertise could provide the screenings and he was determined to fundraise to provide glasses for every student that needed them. Here’s his reflections of the team’s visit to the School of Hope:
In May 2023, our six-strong team touched down in Guatemala City from the UK - excited that our dream had become a reality. Our initial impressions of the country was of the tropical environment - green, lush, clean. We journeyed to Jocotenango and were greeted by many smiling faces, who were eager to discover why we had come to visit.
The School of Hope’s Visitor and Volunteer Coordinator, Susan welcomed us. Her energy and helpfulness ensured that the team understood the context of the families: their home environment, level of income and types of problems they face. Our eyes were well and truly opened.
My team discovered the joy of interacting with the students - their friendly innocence contagious as many hugs were given and received and hair re-styled with authentic Guatemalan plaits!
Having gained the trust of the families, over the course of a week, my team screened every student. We discovered that no matter where you go in the world, boys and girls react differently. We were amused to witness the girls patiently accepting eye drops and the boys acting up, getting all dramatic, screaming and flapping their hands to get attention!
From the screenings we discovered that a staggering 28% of the students needed glasses. This can be attributed to several reasons. Firstly, genetic factors of the population and secondly, due to the basic conditions of the families’ homes. Cooking is often done over open fires, exacerbating eye conditions. Some students in the middle school programme had been struggling for years, many having issues reading the classroom whiteboards.
We were sad to leave the school - but every amazing journey must end. We are delighted that very soon every student identified with poor sight will be receiving their new glasses.
We’ve also trained up the school nurse Celena and Gustavo the Special Education Coordinator, so that they can perform yearly screenings in our absence. We hope to send a team every 3-4 years. We want our support to be long term and sustainable.
As we boarded the plane home, we thought of the students and our time in Guatemala. Our most memorable tourist highlights were climbing Pacaya volcano and a trip to the exquisite Lake Atitlan. Our discovery of delicious traditional Guatemalan food at Los Tres Tiempos, recommended by Susan was a culinary highlight - the national dish of chicken Pepian absolutely delicious.
So with souvenirs in our bags and tales to tell, we arrived home. As we sip our hot chocolate, made from a melted disk of Guatemalan chocolate - just the best, nothing like the hot chocolate you ordinarily get in england - we’re so glad we made the trip. We would love to inspire more people to do the same. Taking your own expertise to help others is a life-affirming, fulfilling experience.
