The New York for Vision
We are a group of volunteers of Youth Island New York.
Youth Island New York was established in 2017 by a group of college students as a non-profit organization to support middle school, high school and college students spiritually, socially and academically.
Through our long-term activities, we strive to create an environment where students can practice their beliefs and culture, have a successful transition from middle school to college, and resist in American society as unique individuals.
We rise by lifting others.
Through our community service programs we provide volunteer-ships both in the United States and overseas for high school and college students to give them opportunity to get into the community, be part of, and have a true understanding of it.
As Youth Island New York volunteers under The New York for Vision Cataract Surgery Project, we aim to provide the gifts of cataract surgeries for the people in extreme poverty in Mali in 2021.
Cataract surgeries only take 1 hour, but in that one hour the life of a person changes. In Mali, the cost of operation for one cataract surgery is about $100 USD per eye.
The problem is, the average household income is less than $3 dollars per day and as such most patients who are in need of a treatment aren’t able to even get the most standard level of medical treatment necessary.
CATARACTS
It is a medical condition in which the lens of the eye becomes progressively opaque, resulting in blurred vision.
Most cataracts develop slowly over the course of years.The main symptom is blurry vision. Having cataracts can be like looking through a cloudy window. When a cataract interferes with someone’s usual activities, the cloudy lens can be replaced with a clear, artificial lens. This is generally a safe, outpatient procedure.
Most blindness is preventable
Did you know that over 75% of the 2.2 billion blind or visually impared people around the world have preventable or treatable conditions?
That’s over 1.6 billion people who could have sight if they had access to quality eye care — a number equivalent to the population of the United States and all of Africa combined.
Tragically, nearly 90% of those with preventable or treatable vision conditions live in resource-scarce communities around the world, where access to eye care is limited by location or expense. Even worse:
The World Health Organization predicts the number of blind people worldwide to triple by 2050.
Cataracts in Mali
Approximately 600 000 Africans become blind from cataract each year.
Despite the enormity of the problem, few cataract operations are performed in Africa. The cataract surgery rate (CSR), a measure of the volume of cataract surgery performed in a population, is about 500 per million per year in Africa.
We Can’t Do Everything, but We Can Each Do Something
When you sponsor a cataract surgery, you will receive a certificate in your name, in memoriam of someone, or in the name of a loved one. This can be a perfect birthday gift for your loved one.
Please join our fundraising campaign and be a new vision for one.
