Seeking Better Vision In Third-world Villages

Lions clubs across Oahu will conduct a collection drive for used eyeglasses from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at selected sites, including three Windward

Longs Drugs stores — at Kailua Town Center, Windward City and Kaneohe Bay shopping centers.

The drive is part of Hawaii Lions’ “Lions in Sight” initiative where clubs clean, sort, ship and distribute the donated glasses to countries where good vision care is inaccessible or unaffordable. According to Irwin Santos, a Kaneohe resident and Lions’ spokesman, an eye exam can cost as much as one month’s wages, and a single eye doctor may serve a community of hundreds of thousands of people.

The most recent Hawaii effort sent 5,000 pairs of eyeglasses to villagers in mountainous parts of Afghanistan. Hearing aids also are welcome. They will be cleaned and then tested for local distribution.

For more information, call Santos at (213)-283-6107 or email irwin@hawaiilions.org.