Short term placements
A short-term placement is a great way to experience working in a developing country and to share your clinical or technical skills to fight avoidable visual impairment and poverty.
Most of our short-term placements last two weeks and give you the opportunity to join a team of professionals working on a specific project in one our partner countries. You can volunteer with Vision Aid Overseas if you are:
- An optometrist
- A dispensing optician
- An optical technician
- An ophthalmologist
- An optical assistant or have experience of working in an optical business
We will make sure we place you on a programme suitable to your experience.
What will I do?
The main focus of our short-term placements are helping local eye care workers to boost their skills by providing short courses on optometry or optics or mentoring eye care workers in clinical practice. Their are also opportunities to help establish Vision Centres by installing or maintaining equipment and to work alongside local clinicians working on outreach programmes.
Vision Aid Overseas' international programme focuses on developing long-term services in our partner countries. For this reason, we don't undertake volunteer programmes which are only focused on establishing short-term eye camps and dispensing spectacles.
How to get involved?
To be eligible to participate in a short-term programme with Vision Aid Overseas you must become a member of the charity - this cost £36 per year or £3 per month - and attend a training course in Birmingham.
Volunteers must also make a donation of £750 to Vision Aid Overseas to help cover their costs and are encouraged to raise additional funds and generate awareness of Vision Aid Overseas in their local communities.
Fundraising for your project
Many volunteers like to fundraise - particularly for their first project. Over the years, we've seen everything from climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and Bollywood Balls to Dragonboat Racing and abseiling!
If you would like ideas for fundraising, please download our Fundraising Pack, or contact the office on 01293 535016.
Letting the press know about your project is another good way of generating funds, please contact our Communications Manager, Lucy Jenkins for help in contacting local magazines, radio stations and newspapers.
