
VOSO’s Tongan travels
For the first time since the pandemic, Volunteer Ophthalmic Services Overseas’ (VOSO’s) chair Dr Andrew Riley and I made a five-day visit to Nuku'alofa in Tonga in September. A regular volunteer, this
4 articles

For the first time since the pandemic, Volunteer Ophthalmic Services Overseas’ (VOSO’s) chair Dr Andrew Riley and I made a five-day visit to Nuku'alofa in Tonga in September. A regular volunteer, this

At the end of last year, I was lucky enough to do three locum visiting optometry contracts with the Brien Holden Foundation (BHF) and local Aboriginal communities in Australia.

I was really excited to get the opportunity to work with the Lions Outback Vision (LOV) in Western Australia, something I have wanted to do for years. I flew into Perth and, first up, I joined New Zealand trained optometrist Sinead Denny for a trip through the goldfields and wheatfields.

This year, a small but experienced VOSO team travelled to Tonga. Led by Dr Andrew Riley, the team included optometrists John Tarbutt and myself and Dr John-Paul Blanc. We were ably assisted by Tongan Pacific Eye Institute (PEI)-trained Dr Duke Mataka and his capable team of eye health staff.