Specsavers director helps with eye care in Kolkata

A director of Specsavers Athlone recently travelled to Kolkata, India, to provide crucial eye care in aid of The Hope Foundation.

Kate Kelly, Director and Optometrist, at Specsavers Athlone, joined a team of Specsavers volunteers to provide eye care, working in The Hope Hospital Eye Clinic and visiting local communities.

The work is part of Specsavers' ongoing partnership with The Hope Foundation, which has raised over €200,000 this year, contributing to a total of more than half a million euro since 2017, dramatically impacting the lives of Kolkata's most vulnerable.

During their week-long trip, the team of expert opticians gave eye checks to 3,120 patients, dispensed over 2,200 glasses, and in more severe cases, referred patients to Hope Hospital for surgery.

For most of these people this was their first time ever seeing an Optician and availing of the basic of eye health care that we often take for granted here in Ireland.

Kate expressed her gratitude for the trip: “I'm so grateful for the opportunity to return to Kolkata with The Hope Foundation this year. Their work alongside street communities is truly transformative, changing lives for the better. It was a privilege to witness the impact of our support, especially the gift of sight we helped provide to hundreds. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who made this possible.”

For the people seen by Specsavers on this trip to Kolkata, having glasses can be a life changing tool, be it to help in their education, help them to obtain work to support their families or simply to enjoy the everyday.

Among the patients seen at the clinic was a young cricket player, fearing he'd have to abandon his beloved sport due to worsening vision. His sight issues, impacting his ability to see the ball, were addressed, allowing him to continue playing the game he loved.

Dr Samran, CEO of The Hope Hospital, emphasised the critical impact of Specsavers team’s efforts to bring access to eye care, noting that 90% of cases of blindness can be prevented if timely treatment is available.

At the end of their week-long volunteering trip, Specsavers presented a cheque of €200,000 to founder of The Hope Foundation, Maureen Forrest. This significant donation will play a vital role in sustaining the eye care clinic in Kolkata.

Maureen Forrest, Founder of the Hope Foundation explains ‘this programme is the difference between life and death to people who can’t feed their families.’

She continues: ‘Vision is everything to people and for us to be able to support them in their vision journey is a great privilege.’

Specsavers were thrilled to be able to bring two optometry students from Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin) to Kolkata, Eva O’Mahoney and Liam Schokman.

Specsavers has an academic partnership with TU Dublin which helps students develop the necessary skillsets required to excel in a professional environment and in their academic studies.

The Hope Foundation Ireland is a registered Irish charity working with street and slum children in Kolkata.

The charity works to free children and poor families from lives of pain, abuse, poverty, and darkness and seeks to improve their lives by providing access to healthcare and nutrition, education, drug rehabilitation and life skills and training.

With the help of Specsavers and The Hope Foundation, improved eye care will be made available to the children living in slums and hospitals in Kolkata.

Specsavers recently won an award for Best Corporate Charity Partnership at the Charities Institute Ireland’s Charity Excellence Awards 2024, for their ongoing relationship and support of The Hope Foundation.