VOSH Santa Cruz Hosts Free Eye Clinic in Holy Cross School in Peru

Author: General Administration

VOSH Santa Cruz Visits Holy Cross School in Peru

VOSH Santa Cruz, which stands for Holy Cross Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity, held a free eye clinic at the Congregation of Holy Cross's Fe y Alegria 25 School in San Juan de Lurigancho, which is on the outskirts of Lima, Peru. For the orgnization headquartered at Saint Laurent Praish in Saint Laurent, Quebec, it was its 77th mission giving eye care and glasses to underserved populations around the world.

All told, 58 volunteers from Canada, Australia, and the United States, including several optometrists and opticians, as well as OD students from Montreal, Ohio State, and Brisbane, participated in the mission beginning on August 1. Among the volunteers were seminarian Méo Labossière, C.S.C., and Deacon Juliyas Rozario, C.S.C., of the Congregation's Providence Canadienne. The mission was led by Fr. Pierre Labine, C.S.C., founder of VOSH Santa Cruz.

Find out more about VOSH Santa Cruz

VOSH Santa Cruz Visits Holy Cross School in Peru

Over the six days, the volunteers worked from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., attending to over 3,000 people total. Each received a comprehensive checkup, including tests of visual acuity, auto-refraction, and eye pressure, and an eye exam before receiving their free glasses.

VOSH Santa Cruz began in 1999 when Fr. Labine was serving at the Congregation’s Dom Amando School in Santarém, Brazil. On returning to Canada, a graduate of the high school in Cornwall where he was chaplain encouraged Fr. Labine to organize a mission to provide eye care. Although that mission to Brazil never came about due to local restrictions, a mission was realized in Puerto Escondido, Mexico. From there, the ministry slowly began to take off, until today when VOSH Santa Cruz counts on teams of volunteers from Canada, Australia, France, Mexico, and the United States, and has distributed over 300,000 pairs of glasses.

VOSH Santa Cruz Visits Holy Cross School in Peru

Among other partnerships, it has teamed up with COSTCO Canada from which it receives donations of glasses and frames. It also receives strong support from the Lions and Rotary Clubs, and many optical companies like Essilor to supply materials for its missions.