Unite For Sight
Unite for Sight is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 2000 by Jennifer Staple-Clark specializing in healthcare delivery to communities around the world. The organization invests human and financial resources in local eye clinics in Ghana, Honduras, and India to eliminate patient barriers to care. As of January 2017, Unite for Sight has assisted more than 2.4 million people worldwide and provided over 97,000 vision-restoring surgeries.
Volunteer abroad program
The Global Impact Corps is a volunteer abroad program that places students and professionals with Unite For Sight's local eye clinic partners. After completing global health training, Global Impact Fellows travel to one of three country locations to support local clinicians as they deliver eye care to patients living in extreme poverty.Global Impact Fellows can also work with Unite For Sight to design and implement a global health research study via the Global Impact Lab. Primarily students, these research volunteers work with Unite For Sight, the partner eye clinic, and a university mentor to develop a research question and methods; they also are required to receive Institutional Review Board approval from their institution. Global Impact Fellows complete a Certificate in Global Health Research, preparing them for the challenges of conducting research in the developing world. Many Fellows go on to share their findings in academic journals or at research conferences.
In India, volunteers have the option of participating in Dhenkanal, Chennai, or in Patna. In Dhenkanal, Global Impact Fellows partake in NGO management programs while learning about sustainable healthcare at Kalinga Eye Hospital and Research Centre, which was founded by social entrepreneur Sarang Samal and provides healthcare to the 7 million people residing in the seven districts of central Orissa. In Chennai, Fellows join the Pranav Foundation, founded by ophthalmologists Dr. Senthil and Dr. N Malathi, in providing eye care outreach programs to remote communities. In Patna, Fellows work alongside cataract and glaucoma specialist Dr. Satyajit Sinha, ophthalmologist Dr. Ajit Sinha, and retina specialist Dr. Pooja Sinha at the A.B. Eye Institute and outreach clinics to deliver free eye care; they also have the opportunity to visit Bihar Netraheen Parishad, the only school in Bihar exclusively for blind girls.
Unite For Sight's program in Ghana includes three eye clinics in Accra and two in Kumasi. One-week volunteers travel to Crystal Eye Clinic to assist Dr. James Clarke and clinic staff in conducting village eye care outreach programs. Global Impact Fellows staying for more than a week rotate between multiple clinics and have the opportunity to participate in long-distance or overnight outreach programs.
In Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Global Impact Fellows accompany Centro de Salud Integral Zoe staff, on outreach trips to remote villages up to three hours outside of the city, helping to provide eye exams, glasses, and medication to over 100 patients a day.
In August 2012, Unite For Sight established a partnership with Global Eyeglasses, an online eyeglasses retailer, to obtain 50 new pairs of prescription glasses each month for use in their eye clinics around the world.