|
|
|
|
|
Visual Compassion (VC) began in 2006, as a vision of Dr. Joseph Dollak to attack poverty from a visual perspective. While on a mission trip to Lima, Peru; the outline to what is Visual Compassion today was put down in a journal. What has followed
can only be described as God's grace. Endless hours of prayer, servitude and failures have forged the most magical of realities. We are honored to work with individuals from incarceration, addiction and/or homeless histories through our foundational partners: the Salvation Army and the Volunteers of America. Through their grace of hosting our laboratories, clinics and vision stations we have been able to create what we like to call InFOCUS University in honor of Dr. Ian Berger and the many years of dedication he poured into others through the education of basic visual needs. Today our students learn both classroom and hands-on optical skills which are then empowered through our VC Temps Service. You will find these skilled Visual Servants working in our Vision Stations, VC Labs and Retail Vision Clinics. This cycle of training involving those coming from difficult situations to assist other's needs in difficult situations in what we call a Vision Wheel. In November 2009, VC took over leadership of InFOCUS with the intent of empowering their InFOCUS Vision Stations in the Vision Wheel project. 2011 brings us to an exciting time of listening to the Holy Spirit and following His lead as our 1st full Vision Wheel pilot begins in Houston, Tx. With christian principles building our foundation on Christ we aim to be priests, kings and servants to the least of our communities knowing that as we go we are looking into the eyes of Christ himself. We welcome you to look throughout our website and join in as you feel lead to be a weapon for the kingdom of God.
InFOCUS
(Interprofessional Fostering of Ophthalmic
Care for Underserved Sectors) began in 1987
as an outreach project of the University of
Houston College Optometry. The project produced
the FOCOMETER® an
affordable refracting device appropriate to
areas without access to professional personnel,
electricity or costly equipment. This device
became the centerpiece of a unique program
designed to help medically underserved communities
achieve self- reliance for basic vision care.
In 1995 InFOCUS was chartered as a non-profit
501c3 organization with a mission to provide
eye care to all populations, beginning with
those most in need and hardest to serve due
to poverty or geographic remoteness. Its strategy
is to train local service providers to provide
primary eye care. Its goals are to improve
vision, prevent blindness and promote health.
|
| |
OUR
MISSION:
To
help disadvantaged people
get the eye care and eyeglasses
they need to lead healthy
and productive lives.
|
|
|
| |
| |
Vision
Stations fill an important need in underserved
communities here in the United States. |
|
THE
VISION STATION PROJECT
To meet the needs of underserved communities, InFOCUS developed
a user-friendly path to vision care, the Vision
Station. InFOCUS offers "Vision Care" workshops
and step-by-step guidelines to prepare community-based service
providers to assess vision, provide eye health education, refer
patients to eye doctors and - if eyeglasses are prescribed - dispense
glasses from a small, on-site dispensary.
Vision
Stations can be set up in a church, community center,
clinic, school, youth program or any place where
low-income families come for activities, assistance
and services. See more information on Vision
Stations.
|
|
| |
WHY
ARE WE HERE?
As
many as 900 million children and adults in the
world today are visually impaired due to refractive
errors that could be corrected by prescription
eye glasses. The World Health Organization estimates
that 75% of the world’s blindness could be prevented
or treated. Toward that goal, InFOCUS helps large,
medically isolated populations acquire basic vision
services and the capacity to link patients to professional
care.
|
School
children enjoying their new glasses |
|
| |
|
Visual Compassion
24914 Kuykendahl Ste D
Tomball, TX 77375
Main phone 281-398-7525; Fax 281-398-7428
|
|
|
