VOSH-Connecticut Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity
January 2024

Video can’t be displayed
This video is not available.
San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua: January 5-13, 2024
VOSH-Connecticut held its annual eye care clinic in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua on January 5-13, 2024. This was the 23rd year of service to the San Juan del Sur area and the 20th under the auspices of VOSH-Connecticut, along with three previous missions under the auspices of VOSH-NECO. The team consisted of 38 mission members.
As in years past, approximately 80 local volunteers assisted with the mission. Dra. Rosa Elena Bello supervised the mission and the local volunteers as she has done for the past 23 years, and many local volunteers were now able to assist throughout the mission as translators. This year’s mission was a mix of veteran and new mission doctors, all of whom were wonderful and did an outstanding job in every way. We were joined once again by our local friends from Torrington, CT, George and Candace Craig. For all 4 days George took blood pressures on patients and Candace collected and counted all of the exam slips daily for which we are very grateful to both of them. Once again, we had our optometry students from Berkeley Optometry School as we’ve had every year since 1999, this year led by Vickie Kuo who did a great job coordinating and assisting with the students in every way. We also were joined by a new volunteer John Bedford who provided wonderful and invaluable service throughout the week in every way as needed including help with all the daily patient buses.
In addition to the 1,800 pairs of donated glasses purchased by VOSH-Connecticut from the Virginia Lions Club, 5,000 pairs of sunglasses & 2,000 pairs of readers were purchased by VOSH-CT. The dispensary once again was run very organized and efficiently by long-time VOSH-CT member Optician Mareshah Lynch along with Optician Rebecca Raucci and another long-time VOSH-CT member Chief Dispensary Assistant Sally Lee. Marilud Mata Rodriguez who was also indispensable to us as our main translator during the week learned and loved dispensing glasses. In addition, the dispensary was assisted by return Nicaraguan assistants Ruth, Luis and Sayonara.
Many optometry offices helped with edging over 1200 pairs of single vision and bifocals glasses: Drs. Matt Blondin, Fabian Villacis, Brian Lynch, Anton Rao, Kim Raucci and Aarlan Aceto. Opticians Mareshah and Rebecca edged, as well as, Wilson Fernandez from Blondin Shea Eye Care, Kevin at Kennebec Eye Care and Cindy from Livermore Falls (both in Maine). Donations of frames and lenses came from many sources including Eye Care of Maine, Marchon Eyewear, Essilor, Amy Harmon(frame rep in Maine), Dr. Matt Blondin and Dr. Kim and Becca Raucci.
We will continue to increase the number of small minus glasses we make as there is a myopic shift happening in the school aged children through young adults. The Lion’s Club glasses supplement the mission but the hyperopic spherical bifocals created for this mission are the magic of the dispensary. There were more high minus and plus prescriptions than ever before including +11 and -24 prescriptions. Sixty eight special prescription orders brought back to be created will be sent to Jane Mirandette in Colorado and arrangements will be made to distribute the glasses via the Mobile Library routes.
As we started a number of years ago, each mission member was asked to transport one supply bag and most mission members as part of the transport team arrived on the same day & time per our request to assure that everything got through at one time. We resumed traveling back & forth through Managua as we have always done in the past, and this worked fine this year with great planning and preparation by Dra. Rosa Elena Bello having no problems getting through customs at all with the exception of our 2 bags that got left in Miami on Friday necessitating an additional 3 hour plus each way round trip back and forth to the airport in Managua on Saturday.
We also continued to receive excellent service from Richard Morales Narvaez, owner of Gaby Transport, along with his drivers and helpers. Richard and his company provided safe and reliable transportation services to the group and its members throughout the mission, and we are very grateful for everything Richard did to help out on our behalf. We are also appreciative for the delicious baked goods and cakes from Ruth’s sister, Mirna Perez. In addition, Roger Mahieu, Jr., owner of True Value of Litchfield, once again donated 100 nail aprons which were distributed to mission members and volunteers and used to hold eye glasses and sunglasses, and we are most appreciative of his continued kindness and generosity and support of our mission. St. John Paul the Great Academy where two of our granddaughters attend school, both here in Torrington, CT, did a wonderful job in collecting and donating baseball caps that were given out to patients who absolutely loved them and for which we are extremely grateful. We also continue to acknowledge and appreciate the tremendous amount of work our office assistant, Nicole Gaynor, as well as our foster son Orlando Sevilla, do each year throughout the year in preparation for the mission. A number of mission members stayed at the Hotel Victoriana which was terrific, as well as the Hotel Isabella with the continued help and assistance of owner Jane Mirandette.
For the second year now the clinic took place about 10 kilometers out of town at the Fundación Patricia Claeys adult education school facility. As scheduled, we all met at this clinic site at 1 p.m. on Sunday, January 7th for clinic set-up and orientation and everything went fine without any problems at all at this clinic site. We arranged for local loud speaker announcements in San Juan del Sur prior to the start of the clinic to let patients know of the availability and location of clinic services, as well as arranging for a local bus to transport patients back and forth to the clinic which worked very well, along with the additional 8-10 buses per day that brought patients to the clinic from the surrounding southern Nicaraguan area at an approximate cost to VOSH-CT of $9,000.00 As in the past, VOSH-Connecticut provided for all expenses for both mission members and local volunteers relating to the clinic including breakfast, snack, lunch, at a cost to VOSH-CT of $2,550 for the 4-day mission. Marilena and her wonderful staff did their usual wonderful job of cooking and providing all of the food and food services as she and her Mom before her have done for the past 25 years. Certificates of appreciation and participation were given to all participating mission members. Our veteran security teams returned once again, providing great service to the clinic and all participants throughout the week. Group pictures were taken on Wednesday and we also enjoyed our traditional haircut from local barber Wendell on Tuesday evening.
Over the four-day clinic period, we saw 3,734 patients, broken down as follows, increasing our total patient service to almost 60,000 patients over the past 20 years: Mon: 1,184 Tues: 934 Wed: 892 Thurs: 724 Total: 3,734
Numerous drugs were requested and donated from Alcon Laboratories, Inc. which were very useful and helpful to the patients throughout the mission. We have also continued our relationship with the Norwalk, CT Sister Cities who once again provided a bus this year from Nagarote which all worked very well. Escalating mission costs continue to present a challenge, especially with this change to the new clinic site. Total mission expenditures now exceed $20,000.00 per mission, funded solely through volunteer donations solicited primarily by myself through the CAO, as well as through our yearly mission fees and the generosity of our close friends and associates, including donations received for our 70th birthday party in December. We continue to be appreciative of the generosity of the members of the CAO and others, as well as our mission members, who give so generously not only of their time but financially as well. In addition, our mission members Dr. Michael Rayher and Dr. Anton Rao personally raised and donated over $6,000 towards our mission costs for which we were very grateful and appreciative, and also assisted other mission members in raising funds through Go Fund Me efforts. VOSH-CT was very appreciative of the 20 year recognition of service by Dra. Rosa Elenaa Bello and the many local volunteers, a number of whom have been with us since we began our first mission there 25 years ago in 1999 with VOSH-NECO. Dra. Rosa Elena Bello was also very helpful in assisting Dr. Blondin who early on was bit by some unknown creature on his leg which quickly developed into cellulitis and fortunately was successfully treated by Dra. Bello and her staff including some great daily leg messages with ice and aloe!! From what we can see on the VOSH.org web site, we are the only remaining eye care mission still operating in Nicaragua, and we continue to be very grateful and thankful for the opportunity to be of service such a kind, supportive and appreciative people and patients. We again want to personally acknowledge and thank our local sponsor of this mission since 1999, Dra. Rosa Elena Bello, who without her help, guidance, support and authorizations this mission would be unable to take place. VOSH-CT continues to be grateful to all of those, both here and in Nicaragua, who work together as one to provide eye care services to so many who otherwise would have none. Respectfully submitted,Matthew Blondin, O.D., F.A.A.O., MPH, Clinic DirectorAudrey B. Blondin, JD, MPH, Clinic DirectorFebruary 2, 2024
Numerous drugs were requested and donated from Alcon Laboratories, Inc. which were very useful and helpful to the patients throughout the mission. We have also continued our relationship with the Norwalk, CT Sister Cities who once again provided a bus this year from Nagarote which all worked very well. Escalating mission costs continue to present a challenge, especially with this change to the new clinic site. Total mission expenditures now exceed $20,000.00 per mission, funded solely through volunteer donations solicited primarily by myself through the CAO, as well as through our yearly mission fees and the generosity of our close friends and associates, including donations received for our 70th birthday party in December. We continue to be appreciative of the generosity of the members of the CAO and others, as well as our mission members, who give so generously not only of their time but financially as well. In addition, our mission members Dr. Michael Rayher and Dr. Anton Rao personally raised and donated over $6,000 towards our mission costs for which we were very grateful and appreciative, and also assisted other mission members in raising funds through Go Fund Me efforts. VOSH-CT was very appreciative of the 20 year recognition of service by Dra. Rosa Elenaa Bello and the many local volunteers, a number of whom have been with us since we began our first mission there 25 years ago in 1999 with VOSH-NECO. Dra. Rosa Elena Bello was also very helpful in assisting Dr. Blondin who early on was bit by some unknown creature on his leg which quickly developed into cellulitis and fortunately was successfully treated by Dra. Bello and her staff including some great daily leg messages with ice and aloe!! From what we can see on the VOSH.org web site, we are the only remaining eye care mission still operating in Nicaragua, and we continue to be very grateful and thankful for the opportunity to be of service such a kind, supportive and appreciative people and patients. We again want to personally acknowledge and thank our local sponsor of this mission since 1999, Dra. Rosa Elena Bello, who without her help, guidance, support and authorizations this mission would be unable to take place. VOSH-CT continues to be grateful to all of those, both here and in Nicaragua, who work together as one to provide eye care services to so many who otherwise would have none. Respectfully submitted,Matthew Blondin, O.D., F.A.A.O., MPH, Clinic DirectorAudrey B. Blondin, JD, MPH, Clinic DirectorFebruary 2, 2024