2010-2011 The fine nurses and staff, (with Laurie Crum RN pulling this together at the hospital) of Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital and Dr. Les Shipley and Associates of Santa Rosa, California, and The Pacific Partnership, a multinational consortium of the militaries, donated reading glasses. There are a number of people on Pohnpei that can read and write but lack glasses for close vision. There are also many artisans that carve on the island and for these, close vision is also essential. This program is aimed at helping restore this vision. All glasses have been donated and are given free of charge. I check vision with some simple tests and from there, fit the recipient with the most appropriate magnification.

There were also sunglasses donated that are being distributed and help greatly in this island nation with 12 hours of sun a day. Fishing on the sea can be challenging with bright sun overhead.

With the generosity shown in donating these glasses you have reached out and touched someone in need thousands of miles away and they thank you.

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Sun glasses were donated by the Pacific Partnership 2011, July, 2011.

The sunglasses are being distributed to the Pingelap communities, where achromatopsia, an autosomal recessive congenital disorder that affects color perception to varying degrees with light sensitivity so extreme that for many, there is blindness during daylight hours. Ten percent of the Pingelap community suffer from this with 30 percent being carriers. I have noted that jerk nystagmus often often is seen with this in this community. The normal occurrence of this disorder in the general populace is 1:33,000.

More images will be added.

Laurie Crum RN BSN and friends of Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital have now sent over 150 pairs of reading glasses. What a gift they have given!

With the reading glasses given by Pacific Partnership, approximately 1000 pairs of glasses for us to distribute and that of SRM Hospital, over 900 pairs of reading glasses were given out after testing and around 400 pairs of sunglasses.


Project initiated, eyes tested and glasses distributed by John Amato RN.