Traveling to Ghana

NEWTOWN, Connecticut (CNN) -- Jennifer Staple runs the Unite For Sight program which started in the U.S., but has branched out into working overseas.

Regarding sight as a fundamental human right that most people take for granted, the program aims to tackle a range of visual impairments that affect people across the world.

Jennifer will be traveling to Ghana and then India, taking volunteers to continue the work of Unite For Sight. Keep up with her experiences in her blogs and video diaries.

October 23, 2007
On October 25, I'll be traveling to Ghana to visit the Unite For Sight programs.

For the past several years, I have worked with our local Ghanaian staff and partners on a daily basis via electronic and telephone communication. This will be my first opportunity to visit Ghana and meet all of our partners and the patients who are being helped by our programs.

While in Ghana, I will accompany our ophthalmic nursing staff into remote, rural villages, where there are thousands of people who have never before received eye care.

Our ophthalmic nurses provide screenings to identify blind people who could have their sight completely restored thanks to a 15-minute operation.

These patients are brought to an eye clinic that is located just one to two hours from their village, and the surgery makes them go from being entirely blind to having clear vision. The patients say that the surgery transforms their lives and allows them to live independently and maintain their livelihood.

I will also go to Buduburam Refugee Camp in Ghana, which is located approximately one hour from the capital city of Accra.

Unite For Sight started working at Buduburam nearly three years ago, and the programs have expanded from direct eye care to also supporting schools and micro-enterprise programs. I have not met any of our partners at Buduburam, and it will be a great privilege to finally have an opportunity to meet them.

I am so very much looking forward to arriving in Ghana, and I'm thrilled that I will have an opportunity to share Unite For Sight's Ghana programs with all of you. E-mail to a friend