3,000 Thais See Better Thanks To Local Lions

About 3,000 pairs of donated eyeglasses have reached Thailand, thanks to the efforts of the Wahiawa and Mililani Lions clubs this past spring.

The clubs collected and cleaned 1,000 pairs of used spectacles from the community, and Wahiawa Lion Jack Kampfer picked up about 2,000 more from other clubs as part of the annual statewide Lions in Sight drive. Glasses were accepted at club collection tables at the Mililani Walmart and Wahiawa Longs Drugs earlier this year.

Key to Central Oahu’s successful delivery was Capt. John Stehulak of the 18th Medical Command at Schofield Barracks. According to Pineapple Press, the Wahiawa club’s newsletter, Stehulak’s unit was invited to participate in a cooperative health engagement in Thailand with the Royal Thai Army, and the glasses were distributed to the rural population there in June.

Internationally, Lions clubs have aided the blind and visually impaired through community service projects like this one since 1917. Statistics indicate that the vision of 500 million people worldwide could be improved with recycled eyeglasses.