Well we've made it to Bora Bora and our 90 days in French Polynesia are just about up. We haven't posted any photos of our Eyeglass Assist sessions and you might be wondering if we have done any, and the answer is most definitely yes. We managed to run 9 sessions on four different islands fitting over 250 pairs of spectacles plus dozens of pairs of sunglasses.

While the people in French Polynesia enjoy a higher standard of living than most other Pacific nations, prices are very high as well. Their standard of health care is good and on a reasonably regular basis an ophthalmologist attends main centres in the archipelago and if the villagers can make their way there then there is no cost for the examination. The trouble is that the glasses must be ordered from Tahiti and they are so expensive that the vast majority of people don't bother consulting the eye doctor as they know they can't afford the glasses. We regularly made the point with people that visiting the doctor would pick up any medical problems that exist, if they were having issues with their vision. It was interesting to overhear the message as it was being passed around a village about our presence, the first question was always “how much do they cost?”. The reaction is normally a mixture of hope and skepticism until everyone realizes that, yes, we are telling the truth. As you can see from the photos, we left some pretty happy people behind.

Don't forget to check out our website at www.eyeglassassist.org and our planned project for the Solomon Islands next year, we need your donations to make it happen.