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Vision Aid Overseas

Helping the world to see...

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  • Primary Eye Care

    Primary Eye Care

    We are strengthening the capacity of health personnel to manage eye patients at primary-level health facilities. Read more

  • Child Eye Health

    Child Eye Health

    We are helping the 12 million children worldwide who struggle to learn simply because they need glasses. Read more

  • Training and Education

    Training and Education

    We help train staff to make sure each country we work with is self-sufficient in delivering quality eye care services. Read more

  • Primary Eye Care
  • Child Eye Health
  • Training and Education
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  1. Our work
  2. How we work

How we work

According to the United Nations, poverty is more than the lack of income and resources. Limited access to quality education and basic health care services can contribute to the devastating cycle of poverty across many developing countries.

Vision Aid Overseas works hard to ensure that everyone, regardless of their gender, economic status and geographical location, has access to affordable eye care services and glasses.

To enable this work, our charity receives both grants and donations. Grants are a form of ‘restricted’ funding, meaning that the funding must be spent on a specified programme of activity, like a contract. Currently, our largest multi-year funding partnerships are with: 

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID): for 'School Eye Health in Sierra Leone', reaching 44,000 children and 988 teachers at 159 primary schools, within two years between 2019-2021. See full details.

The Clothworkers Foundation: for 'Primary Eye Care Pilot Project', reaching over 320,000 people and improving the skills of 240 Community Health Workers, 16 Community Health Officers, and three optometry Technicians, within three years between 2019-2022. See full details.

Specsavers: for ‘Embedding sustainable Eye Care Services in Zambia’, reaching hundreds of thousands of people via Primary Eye Care and School Based Eye Health activities, within three years between 2020-2023. See full details.

This kind of funding enables VAO as a charity to operate at scale, to plan for and deliver our work strategically, using the methods below. We are proud to hold smaller grants too. But grants still do not provide all the funding we need each year to deliver in full on our misison. As a charity, we rely on donations from our supporters to help us to forge ahead, to innovate, and suceed in helping the world to see.  

Primary Eye Care

Primary Eye Care

We are strengthening the capacity of health personnel to manage eye patients at primary-level health facilities. Read more

Published: 21st February, 2020

Updated: 24th February, 2020

Author: Lynn Stevens

Related topics:
  • How we work
Child Eye Health

Child Eye Health

We are helping the 12 million children worldwide who struggle to learn simply because they need glasses. Read more

Published: 1st May, 2019

Updated: 4th January, 2021

Author:

Related topics:
  • How we work
Vision Centres

Vision Centres

We setup sustainable Vision Centres where patients receive free eye tests and life changing, affordable glasses, tailor made by qualified eye care workers. Read more

Published: 2nd April, 2019

Updated: 4th January, 2021

Author:

Related topics:
  • How we work
Training and Education

Training and Education

We help train staff to make sure each country we work with is self-sufficient in delivering quality eye care services. Read more

Published: 1st April, 2019

Updated: 4th January, 2021

Author:

Related topics:
  • How we work
Community Outreach

Community Outreach

For people living in very remote communities, outreach services can be their only hope of improving poor eye sight. Outreach is often a person’s first ever experience of receiving quality eye care and prescription glasses. Read more

Published: 26th July, 2016

Updated: 4th January, 2021

Author:

Related topics:
  • How we work
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Showing 10 of 5

Latest

  • Fundraising safely

    During Covid-19 restrictions it is important to follow government guidelines when planning or taking part in fundraising activities. Please follow this guide to fundraise safely.

  • Fundraising Ideas

    Fundraising Ideas

    Whilst we’re all living with Covid-19 restrictions there are still a lot of ways you can fundraise and have fun at the same time. Check out this list to see what you can do!

  • Become a friend

    Become a friend

    As a Friend of Vision Aid Overseas you will know that your regular donations are going to help where the need is greatest.

  • Gift aid declaration form

    Gift aid declaration form

Most read

  • Our vision

    Our vision

    No one lives in poverty because of poor eyesight; no one lives with poor eyesight because of poverty.

  • About volunteering

    About volunteering

    You can help the world to see by volunteering with VAO.

  • Chief Executive Officer

    Chief Executive Officer

  • Donate and make a difference

    Donate and make a difference

    Every person deserves the right to clear vision. Donate today and help transform lives through the gift of clear vision.

  • Our history

    Our history

    Now over 30 years old Vision Aid Overseas was founded by UK optometrists who wanted to donate their time and expertise to enable some of the worlds poorest people see properly so that children and their parents could learn, earn and build a better life.

  • Fundraising Team

    Fundraising Team

  • Governance

    Annual Reports, How we are funded, Child Protection Policy, Bribery Act Policy, Security and Safety Policy

  • Zambia

    Zambia

    Surrounded by some of Africa’s most beautiful landscapes, Zambia has only 44 qualified optometrists for a population of 17 million people.

  • Programmes Team

    Programmes Team

  • Ethiopia

    Ethiopia

    Located in the eastern region of Africa, Ethiopia is a rapidly developing country and is quickly emerging from extreme poverty.

Latest tweet

  • 🎉GREAT NEWS!🎉 We need a new trustee and it could be you! Will you help us make a difference to the 1.2 billion peop… https://t.co/MS6Oh21bn8

    25thJanuary, 2021 @_VAO
  • “The one biggest change for me since wearing glasses is that I can now see object clearly from a distant and be abl… https://t.co/fsbIhLp6DG

    24thJanuary, 2021 @_VAO
  • 12 million children worldwide struggle to learn because they don’t have eyecare. Education is a right, but for stud… https://t.co/6uXxyO3QiZ

    24thJanuary, 2021 @_VAO
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Vision Aid Overseas is a registered charity (in England) no. 1081695.
© 2016 Vision Aid Overseas. All rights reserved.

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