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The Rotary Club of Taveuni Island, Fiji

Sea Inside.

Taveuni Eye ProjectRotary International District 9920

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Thank you for your interest in The Rotary Club of Tavenui Island’s Eye Project, one of our most ambitious health initatives that directly benefits the people living on the islands of Fiji. Started in 2005, the primary goal of the project is to give sight to those who have neither the access to, nor the resources to obtain, perscription eyeglasses and the specalized surgical procedures needed to repair cataracts and other advanced eye ailments. As of 2009, we’ve screened more than 4,000 villagers for vision problems, provided eye glasses to more than 1,500 patients and performed life renewing surgery, free-of-charge, to more than 900 of Fiji’s most in need. Our long term goal is to build a system of free eye care, using specialists and trained local volunteers, so that all those lacking proper vision, can have access to these life changing treatements.

The entire project has been funded by our Club members, friends and volunteers, and since its inception we have not requested any grants or major contributions from any outside organizations. To date we estimate the value of the surgery and services performed to be more than $3,000,000 (USD). We’ve done much work in the past four years to perfect our model and processes, and now we need your help to expand the reach of the program to more people. We hope you take this opportunity to learn more about what it is we do and how you can become an integral part in giving people the gift of sight.

Geoffrey Amos Rotary Club of Tavenuni Island Taveuni, Fiji January 2010

A Message From The Club

Semesa Tale, age 42a clearly visible cataract

Vunuku Reva Village

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“You can not ask a man to learn to read, to feed his family or to care for his community

if first he can not see.”

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How vision is restored

A 5-Stage Process

Bringing Doctors To The VillagesMedical facilities in many of the remote island villages of Fiji are often rudimentary at best. In developing our processes we’ve discovered that it is not realistic to expect poor villagers to make the expensive and sometimes arduous journey to the centralized, and better equipped, hospitals to receive the medical services we provide; we have learned that in order to reach the people most in need, we must bring the doctors and screening equipment directly to the villages.

Each year, our all volunteer team of overseas eye specalists, assisted by local Rotarians, volunteers and health workers, venture via 4x4 more than 1300 km (800 miles) on often rough, dirt roads, acting as a ‘traveling eye clinic,’ serving up to two dozen remote villages over a 10-day period.

Testing Vision & Screening EyesResidents of the more developed world take for granted that when they have vision problems they can travel just around the corner and have their vision restored. In the remote Fijian villages, villagers rarely have access to these services and are acustomed to simply learning to live with blurred vision, pain, and the loss of sight due to age, disease and injury.

By bringing our traveling eye clinic directly to the villages, we are able to both test vision and screen for debilitating eye conditions---including cataracts, ptygerium, and glaucoma. Experience shows that 80% of tested villagers require vision correction (perscription and/or reading glasses) and 35% are in need of more advanced surgical attention to correct their vision problems.

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Giving Glasses, Giving SightAfter completing the village-based eye screenings, all those in need are provided with a pair of perscription glasses at no cost. The majority of these glasses are collected by Rotary Clubs from across New Zealand; and through a cooperative agreement with V.O.S.O., the donated glasses are graded and refurbished by optomology students in training at The University of Canterbury.

Through the village-based screenings, the team identifies those villagers that require more advanced testing, and we provide transportation for these patients to our well equipped eye clinic at the centrally located Taveuni Sub-Divisional Hospital (learn more on page 12). Villagers in need of surgery to correct their vision problems are booked in for our annual surgical clinic.

Our all-volunteer, overseas surgical team from New Zealand and the US arrives for our 10-day surgical clinic, and enlisting a small army of local drivers and boat captains, all villagers who were identified for surgery by our traveling eye clinics are transported to the central hospital for their procedures. Some patients previously screened on distant islands must travel up to 16 hours by ferry to be seen by our surgical team.

Those who may have missed the traveling eye clinics may walk-in during the clinic for screening and surgical treatement. No one in need is turned away, and there is no direct cost to any of the participants. All surgical patients are given free hospital accomodations and hot meals for the length of their stay.

The Surgical Team Gets to Work

3 4The surgical team is able to operate on between 10-20 patients per day, correcting the patients’ vision problems on-the-spot. During a typical 10-day surgical clinic, we are able to screen an additional 200 patients and perform between 80-150 surgeries, most often for the removal of cataracts and pterygiums.

After a short overnight stay in the hospital and a post-operative check by the surgical team the following morning, the patients are taken home via 4x4 or boat, with their newly discovered ability to see.

In the first four years of this program, we have successfully completed more than 900 surgicial operations at no cost to the patients.

Vision Restored & Going Home

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Ilisapeci Sila, age 76Eyes clouded by cataracts

Drekena Village

7Patients and volunteers of the Taveuni Eye Project

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The Results Four years into the project, we have delivered more than 1,500 pairs of perscription glasses and performed more than 900 surgeries to restore vision for villagers from across Fiji. To date we estimate the value of the surgery and services performed to be more than $3,000,000 (USD).

With all-donated equipment and volunteer labor, we have built one of the best equipped eye clinic facilities in all of The South Pacific, at the Taveuni Sub-Divisional Hospital, allowing us to provide vision screening and treatment to many remote islands and villages where such services are otherwise unavailable.

Our entirely-volunteer run program has a multi-cultural reach, with patients and volunteers spanning the country’s traditional Fijian, Indo-Fijian and European cultural divides.

Our major international supporters include many of the region’s most recognized organizations in international vision aid, including the Hawaiian Eye Institute, Surgical Eye Expeditions (SEE), Medical Aid Abroad (New Zealand) and Volunteer Opthomological Services Overseas (VOSO, New Zealand).

Over time we have honed our best practices and continually refine our model of service to allow us to reach more people in remote areas with a continually improving level of service.

With your support we can reach even more people and continue to give the gift of sight to those most in need.

Paulina Raburau, age 56cataracts suscessfully removed

Muanacake Village

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A typical 10-day surgical eye clinic involves:

100-150 surgical operations removing mainly cataracts & pterigiums

200+ hours pro-bono surgical work (valued at more than 500,000 USD)

1,300 volunteer hours given by Rotarians and local volunteers

$40,000 USD

donated artificial lenses & medical supplies

550 meals (Fijian, Indian, Western)

prepared by our volunteer catering team

3,000 liters of fuel for water transport and to provide electricity for the operating theater* *Taveuni Hospital does not have 24-hour power, so we must provide fuel to ensure 100% power during the surgical clinic.

Eye Surgery By The Numbers

A typical 10-day mobile eye clinic involves:

350 eye patients screened for vision problems and advanced eye ailments

10-15 remote villages visited by our team, traveling more than 1300 kilometers

160 hours pro-bono optometry work(valued at more than $65,000 USD)

200+ perscripton glasses distributed for free to villagers in need

800 volunteer hours given by Rotarians and local volunteers

Eye Screening By The Numbers

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The Team & Collaborators

John and Linda TaurbuttVolunteer Optomotrists Past District Governor, RI District 9930Hamilton, New Zealand

Dr. Jeff Rutgard (right) Dr. Jason Leng (left) Volunteer Ophthalmic Surgeons California, USA

Ineke and Kees Van LaarJan and John Beamish Carol O’Toole Volunteer Operating Theater TeamTauranga & Auckland, New Zealand

Local Volunteers & SupportersPre-op/post-op assistance, catering, laundry, transportation and in-kind donations of food, supplies and accomodations

Taveuni Sub-Divisional HospitalDoctor Hla Thein, administration, nurses and hospital staff

Rotary Club of Taveuni IslandClub members, families and volunteersChartered in 2002

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Amelia Maikoto Cataract Removal PatientMatei, Taveuni Island

“I couldn’t see near things or far away, but now I can thread my knitting needles and see my children’s faces. It has been a life changing experience.”

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The Taveuni Eye Clinic Facility at the Taveuni Sub-Division Hospital

In May 2008, six volunteers from Takapuna North Rotary Club of New Zealand, visited Taveuni for two weeks to refurbish a vacant hospital building to convert it into a modern, air-conditioned area for ophthalmologists and opticians to work with patients requiring assistance and treatment for their eyes.

New and modern equipment was donated by Honorary Rotarian John Amos and his wife Susan. Surgical Eye Expeditions (SEE) and the Hawaiian Eye Institute have provided additional equipment, lenses and consumables for the clinic, making our facility one of the most advanced eye clinics in all of The South Pacific.

Situated within the Taveuni Sub-Divisional Hospital, the facility provides a perfect location to bring patients identified through our traveling eye clinics for more advanced screenings and treatments.

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Navi, age 80 Double Cataract Removal Patient

Father Michael McVerryDouble Cataract Removal Patient

Director Mari Training Center at Tutu, Taveuni

“I couldn’t see anything, now I can see everything.”

“I’ve known Navi for a long time and I suggested we go to the eye clinic together. He’s poor, has a large family to care for and he was essentially blind.”

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Looking To The Future To seek funding to enable the project to continue to have modern and well-maintained operating equipment, medication, and consumable (lenses, medical goods, etc).

To take the Taveuni Eye Project into more remote areas to ensure all people have an opportunity for quality vision.

To involve more local community members and train them to become our future project coordinators and volunteers.

To provide an opportunity for young ophthalmic surgeons to do volunteer work.

To improve our communications with new patients so they have a better understanding of the procedures.

To continually review our performance and look for ways to improve our work.

To minimize the cost of first quality surgery so more people can benefit from our services.

To maintain close relationships with all who make the project possible.

If you think you can help us achieve these aims, please contact us:The Rotary Club of Taveuni Island, PO Box 1 Matei, Taveuni Island, Fiji. phone: +679 888 0371 • fax: +679 888 2371debra@textilecentre.co.nz.

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Special ThanksJohn and Linda Tarbutt, Opticians from Hamilton, New Zealand Dr. Jeff Rutgard, Ophthalmic Surgeon from San Diego, USADr. Jason Leng, Ophthalmic Surgeon from Los Angeles, USAIneke and Kees Van Laar from Tauranga, New Zealand, operating theater team Jan and John Beamish from Tauranga, New Zealand, operating theater team Carol O’Toole from Auckland, New Zealand, pre/post-op nurseTaveuni Sub-Divisional Hospital Staff Nurses Mere Tororoca and Clara Vishwa Lorna Cammick, Rotary Club and interpreting and running the pre/post-opRoberta Lambardi, volunteer at clinic check-inByron Fisher, volunteer at clinic check-inLorraine Simpson, Rotary Club Member and volunteerDoug Cammick for running water transportationRotarian Josephine Korovata and the Raikivi ladies for running catering and laundry servicesAlipate Silakati, Petero Lawakeli and Dip Chan, patient transportation and supportFred and Irm Gartley, providing accomodations and vehicle transportSeli and Amelia of Sere ni Ika for assisting with accomodation of the medical teamVolunteer Opthamlmic Services Overseas (V.O.S.O) (Richard Johnson, Project Coordinator)Honorary Rotarian John Amos and his wife SusanBhula Bhai and Sons, in-kind provisionsPacific Sun Airlines, providing transportation for the medical teamTaveuni Sub-Divisional Hospital and SDMO Dr Hla TheinDr Neil Sharma, Minister for HealthRatu Epeli, Minister for Defence, Immigration and Home AffairsTakapuna North Rotary Club of New ZealandRotary Club of Taveuni Island, members and their familiesHawaiian Eye InstituteSurgical Eye Expeditions (S.E.E.)

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for more information please contact:

The Rotary Club of Taveuni IslandPO Box 1 Matei, Taveuni Island, Fiji.phone: +679 888 0371 • fax: +679 888 2371debra@textilecentre.co.nz

All images © 2009 Andrew J. Stoll. All Rights Reserved. andy@stoll.netBrochure design and photography contributed by Andy Stoll (2006-07 Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar RI District 6000. Iowa, USA)