Sights On Healthvolunteer | Sights On Health

My life changing experiences with Sights on Health

Sights on Health — Mon, 14 Oct 2019 12:37:39 +0000

By Damaris Raymondi

I’ve been on five mission trips with the A Promise to Peru/Sights on Health team.

All of them have been life changing both for the patients and for myself. But I was not ready for what I witnessed in the city of Maras. The need and the ocular issues we saw were unlike anything I’ve seen here in the US or in other cities in Peru.

There were many cases of preventable blindness, some neglect, and most unfortunate a lot of trauma. But coupled with that came hope, gratitude, patience, and resilience in the part of the people.

We set up our traveling eye clinic in the Maras health post. The health post has pharmacy and the only eye drops they have are steroid eye drops! We were needed and so the people came.

This elderly lady presented with mild cataracts in both eyes that have started to impact her vision. Her chief complaint was that she was having a hard time seeing which of her family members was walking on the road up to her home. Luckily we had glasses in her prescription and we also had reading glasses for her. She was thrilled. We provided her with detailed information, in Quechua, on where to seek additional help as her vision changes. And she was also educated on the importance of annual eye exams and wearing sunglasses with UV-protection when working out in the fields.

I asked if I could take a picture with her, she said yes and she wanted to see how the photo came out and wanted to approve the final product since she was now able to see herself with her new glasses

2018 MISSION SCHEDULE

Sights on Health — Mon, 22 Jan 2018 17:09:23 +0000

We are excited to expand our outreach and we are relying on our volunteers for your continued support and enthusiasm!

1. A Native American Reservation, South Dakota, an eye screening mission, June 2-9, 2018.

Mission will provide eyeglasses and comprehensive eye exams by optometrists and ophthalmologists
Ophthalmologists, Dr Bill Epstein and Dr Pranav Patel are scheduled for this mission.
Our hope is to return 4-6 months later to perform eye surgeries, including laser surgery for diabetic retinopathy

2. Joint Medical Mission with FNE International/ June 25-29, 2018 Sacred Valley, Peru:

We have most of our team assembled, if you are interested, contact Dr. Messina or Cathy Roberts, by clicking here.
Registration Paperwork Due by January 30, 2018, click on Volunteer tab for specifics, under 2. Peru Mission

3. Riobamba Ecuador, cataract surgical mission, September 22-29, 2018

Working with Fibuspam fibuspam.org
350 patients that have already been screened and cleared for cataract surgery.
We will need 2-3 ophthalmologists, complete staff for two operating rooms, and 1-2 sterilization technicians to operate the autoclaves, a critical care specialist or anesthesiologist, and 2 4th year medical students.
Contact Dr. Messina or Cathy Roberts, by clicking here, if you are able to participate.
Applications due February 15, 2018, click on Volunteer tab for specifics, under 3. Ecuador Mission

International Artist Donates her Talents to A Promise to Peru, Inc.

Sights on Health — Mon, 12 Sep 2016 09:26:22 +0000

Julia Kokoshari is a professional multi-disciplinary artist. At an early age she expressed her talents through painting, music, writing and foreign languages. She has opened several exhibitions in Europe and also here in the U.S. Admirers appreciate her unique way of expressing an idea, concept and theme and how vivid and graded color effects bring completion of purposes. She is also an international social worker/psychologist with a highly qualitative work experience with different social groups, governmental and non-profit bodies.

Dr. Coritsidis & Dr. Messina introduced her to A Promise to Peru’s mission and work. Wanting to make a personal contribution and resonate a more colorful hope to the indigent population, she decided to utilize her paintings as means to support the mission and the great endeavors of doctors from all over the U.S through the Foundation ‘A Promise to Peru’ by donating 30% of the proceeds to the non profit organization. Julia has researched and excavated deeper into the Southern America’s cultures, traditions, believes, history and lack of medical help. You can view Julia’s beautiful and colorful paintings on her website http://www.juliakokoshari.com

If you are interested in purchasing one of Julia’s paintings or postcards 30% of the proceeds will go to A Promise To Peru Inc. Please click here for further details.

Check Out Our Music Video!

Sights on Health — Wed, 29 Jun 2016 15:00:58 +0000

Check out this amazing music video two of our medical students made of the wonderful, fabulous, and hardworking P2P team! We had the best time during our mission and we wanted to show off our silly sides and joy to everyone else!

Usman Aslam, Volunteers for A Promise To Peru – via The Box

Sights on Health — Thu, 10 Dec 2015 15:35:36 +0000

The NYIT Blog The Box recently featured an article on Usman Aslam, one of our dedicated volunteers!

Photo source nyit.edu Aslam places an IV line on a patient waiting for cataract surgery in Guayaquil, Ecuador.

Meet Usman Aslam, Presidential Global Fellow

“The best part of going on medical missions is being able to see the immediate effects of my work helping people,” says Usman Aslam. In June 2015, Aslam embarked on his fourth international medical mission—a trip to Guayaquil, Ecuador, which was funded by an NYIT Presidential Global Fellowship.

In Ecuador, Aslam volunteered for seven days with health care professionals mobilized by the nonprofit A Promise To Peru. Aslam was part of a team that performed more than 400 medical screenings and ultrasounds, 725 visual acuity tests, and 128 cataract surgeries (75 percent of the patients were legally blind). They donated supplies and services worth more than $434,100.

Read the full article here.

Kings Park R.J.O. Intermediate School – Community Awareness Program

Sights on Health — Tue, 07 Apr 2015 14:16:59 +0000

Kings Park R.J.O. Intermediate School has a Community Awareness Program aimed at increasing the student’s awareness of the needs of others. Interested students are invited to monthly meetings where parent volunteers will introduce a need and a project to help meet that need. The children collected sunglasses, reading glasses and children’s prescription glasses for A Promise to Peru, Inc. Here they are holding their certificates of appreciation. Drs. DiGioia and Messina gave a slide show to the students about the medical and surgical mission and discussed with the students who will benefit from their donated glasses. What a wonderful idea to start exposing the children about what they can do in the world to help make a difference! They were given an opportunity to make a difference and they did! Thank you Anne McConville and the volunteer parents for inviting A Promise to Peru to visit and to be a recipient of your efforts!

Annual Peruvian Item Sale – A Success

Sights on Health — Sun, 23 Nov 2014 17:04:18 +0000

Many thanks to all who supported our annual Peruvian item sale. The funds collected from this event raised over 3,000 dollars which will be used to purchase needed medical and surgical supplies for the 2015 mission.

CATARACT SURGICAL & MEDICAL MISSION JUNE 2015

Sights on Health — Wed, 05 Nov 2014 18:33:31 +0000

As stated in our mission statement, A Promise to Peru, Inc. provides an annual cataract surgical and medical mission to the remote villages of the Sacred Valley of Peru and other regions in need. We are excited to announce our date and location for 2015… We are traveling to a new region to provide our support: Guayaquil, Ecuador for the week of June 15, 2015. El Centro Misionero de Salud “Maria Leonor Aguiar” is the clinic where our medical team will host clinics of various subspecialties such as ophthalmology, dermatology, infectious disease, women’s health, pediatrics, ultrasonography and general medicine. It will also be the location where our ophthalmologists will perform cataract surgery. All of these services will be provided free of charge to the patients. For this mission, A Promise to Peru, Inc will be working with Blanca’s House, also a Long Island based nonprofit organization. They will assist us in coordinating the outreach of the neediest patients for surgery and medical care. As well as in the long term follow up care of these patients with local physicians.

Our board of directors is very excited to expand our mission to Ecuador for 2015 and we are looking forward to another successful mission! Be assured that it is our intention to return to our wonderful patients in the Sacred Valley, Peru. All of us remain very committed to their well-being.

Please be aware of our deadlines for application submission. We will be following these dates strictly, so if you are interested in joining, please don’t delay and apply today…. applications can be found under the Volunteer tab of our website http://apromisetoperu.com/get-involved/

Physicians and Healthcare Professionals:

Applications should be submitted to: apromisetoperu@gmail.com

Due Date: January 2, 2015

Notification of Final Decision: by January 9, 2015

For Medical, Optometry, all Healthcare Professional students and undergraduate students:

Applications should be submitted to: apromisetoperu@gmail.com

Due Date: December 5, 2014

Notified by: December 12, 2014 if they are chosen for an interview

Interview Session: December 15, 2014, at Stony Brook HSC or via Skype after 3pm

Notification of Final Decision: by December 22, 2014

Photo Journal by Louis Chai

Sights on Health — Tue, 24 Sep 2013 17:09:54 +0000

Published in The ASCA Journal

Sights on Health — Sun, 30 Jun 2013 11:43:03 +0000

Download the article here.