Hi everyone,

I'm writing to inform you about Spring 2005 international internship
opportunities to help restore eyesight and prevent blindness in a refugee
camp in Ghana and in rural villages in Ghana, Tanzania, and Benin.
Additional Summer 2005 Internship Opportunities are available in Ghana,
Tanzania, Benin, Uganda, Nigeria, Cameroon, India, and Thailand.

Contact JStaple@... for an application and details. All
persons over the age of 18 are welcome to apply, including premedical
students, medical students, public health professionals, nurses, graduate
students, doctors, and others.

Dates:
Buduburum Refugee Camp in Ghana
December 28 - February 28, 2005 - Rolling Application Deadline

Humjibre, Ghana
February 1 - March 30, 2005 - Rolling Application Deadline

Nyamuswa, Tanzania 2005
January 15 - March 15, 2005 - Rolling Application Deadline

Pobe, Benin 2005
January 15 - May 15, 2005 - Rolling Application Deadline

Ghana, Tanzania, Benin, Uganda, Nigeria, Cameroon, India, and Thailand
Summer 2005 - Rolling Application Deadline

Spring 2005 Internship Descriptions

Humjibre, Nyamuswa, and Pobe

In Humjibre, Ghana and Nyamuswa, Tanzania, volunteers will receive training
and will then screen patients for operable cataracts, arrange for cataract
surgeries, distribute eyeglasses and conduct eye health education in local
schools. These programs are a continuation of very successful Unite For
Sight cataract surgery program in Humjibre and Nyamuswa during Summer 2004.

In Pobe, Benin, volunteers will distribute eyeglasses, conduct eye health
education in local schools, and coordinate a new cataract surgery
program. This program is also a continuation of a successful Summer 2004
Unite For Sight program

Buduburum Refugee Camp in Ghana
In coordination with the local Liberian Refugee-run NGO “Self-Help
Initiatives For Sustainable Development” (SHIFSD), Unite For Sight is
designing a comprehensive eye health program for children and teachers in
the forty-three schools at the Buduburum Refugee Camp near Accra. The
first Unite For Sight volunteers will arrive at the refugee camp on
December 28, 2004 to distribute eyeglasses, screen for eye disease and
coordinate treatment at an eye clinic, implement eye health education
programs for children, and implement a Train-the-Trainer program for
teachers in the schools. The Unite For Sight volunteers will be trained by
ophthalmologists at the Christian Eye Clinic in Tema to screen for eye
disease and prescribe eyeglasses.

At present, there is only one health clinic with a single qualified
physician for the 82,000 residents at the Buduburum Refugee Camp. Because
the population does not have an eye doctor available, Unite For Sight
volunteers will screen the children for treatable eye conditions, including
refractive error, congenital cataracts, xerophthalmia, trachoma, river
blindness, and conjunctivitis, and coordinate their care by
ophthalmologists at the newly established Christian Eye Clinic in Tema,
Ghana.

While the children at the Buduburum Refugee Camp will be taught by Unite
For Sight volunteers about eye anatomy and eye health, the teachers will be
trained in basic visual acuity testing and participate in seminars about
eye health so that they can recognize potential eye disease or visual
acuity problems among their students and refer them to a doctor for
treatment. The trained teachers will develop an ongoing, sustainable
relationship with the ophthalmologists at the Christian Eye Clinic in
Tema. The teachers will also be encouraged to include Unite For Sight’s
educational curriculum about eye health in their classroom.

Previous Unite For Sight Volunteers Share Their Experiences
“Unite For Sight’s volunteers announced the eye clinic at church and beat
the gong gong to spread the word. As the clinic went on for the second
week, word spread to other communities, and patients came to the clinic
from as far away as two hours. Even after the clinic ended, people brought
blind relatives from long distances.” –Alison Polk-Williams, Summer 2004,
Humjibre, Ghana

"My experience in Tanzania this summer was life-changing. It has solidified
my commitment to pursue international public health and to reach out to
underserved communities who cannot get care on their own. By screening
people for cataracts, distributing eyeglasses, providing medications, and
teaching eye health in schools, I gave hope to the village of Nyamuswa.
Where advanced, high-tech care was but a dream, I showed that ophthalmic
care, and health care in general, can be a reality for them, despite the
poverty and lack of access to services. I can't imagine doing anything more
worthwhile with my summer." -- Sachin Jain, Unite For Sight Volunteer,
Summer 2004, Nyamuswa, Tanzania

“It was a wonderful experience working in Tanzania. The need for eyeglasses
and other eye services is real and urgent. You sense it from the questions
people ask, the requests they make and the stories they tell. Average wage
is Tsh 48,000 (USD 43) while a pair of eyeglasses costs Tsh 30,000 (USD
27). People cannot afford eyeglasses. Misconceptions about eye surgeries
remain. Yet, every Tanzanian I met has been very receptive to our programs.
From the policy makers to the villagers, everyone supports our work,
appreciates our efforts and invites us back to Tanzania. Sensing a need in
the community is one thing, being supported and respected by the people
made the internship very much more fulfilling.” –Sally Ong, Summer 2004,
Tanzania

Contact JStaple@... and www.uniteforsight.org for an
application and details.

Sincerely,
Jennifer Staple
Founder, President & CEO
Unite For Sight
www.uniteforsight.org
.


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