I grew up in Rural Zimbabwe, where my dad built a small clinical practice to provide medical care in the community, so I’ve always been inspired to volunteer and help those in need. Having recently qualified as a dispensing optician, I was looking for a volunteer opportunity and, given my current focus on meditation and wellbeing, I thought Eyes4Everest would be perfect, and it was.
In fact, it was absolutely phenomenal; a real life changing experience. Nothing can really prepare you for the literally breathtaking views of the towering peaks, Everest itself and the endless amounts of stairs. Although strenuous, people of average fitness can trek through Nepal – slow and steady is the key!
We started out as a group of nine optometrists from Australia, plus myself from New Zealand, all brought together by a common desire to make a difference to people who don’t have access to the same eye care we do. Most of us were first time trekkers, although the support of our Sherpa guides and yaks, who carried the majority of our gear, certainly made the trip a lot more pleasant. We also met up with a young Nepalese optometrist, Tashy, who had just finished her qualification in India and is the first Sherpa optometrist as far as we know! It was so amazing seeing how proud her community was of her.
We spent the majority of our time on this Eyes4Everest trip helping in a village named Khumjung (3970m) where we saw around 100 Nepalese people over two days. I was lucky enough to have my work station outside with a memorial statue of Sir Edmond Hillary and a stunning mountain overlooking me. I was also fortunate to be the last person our patients saw, so it was a bit emotional having Sherpa elders hold my hand to their cheeks in thanks! The work you do becomes that much more rewarding when you realise a couple of 80-year-old ladies have walked for four hours just to see you before walking home again. We all spent time trying to learn as much Nepalese as we could to try to communicate more effectively, though our Sherpa guides were on hand to help us out!
One of my favourite moments from Khumjung was watching two young boys freeze, their eyes go incredibly wide and then run away as one of our optometrists, Rose, stepped outside while wearing her BIO!
