Many hands make light work. And thanks to the many hands at work in Delaware, a lot of people in the Dominican Republic see better today. We are Bethany Beach residents who are part of an eye mission team based at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Savannah, Ga. For four years, we have dispensed eye health care to the people of San Pedro de Macoris, a city of 180,000 on the southeast coast of the Dominican Republic.
We have just returned from our latest trip, and we distributed more glasses than ever. All of the 500 pairs of prescription glasses came from Delaware. The Many Hands team starts with Lions Clubs all over the state, who collected boxes filled with donated glasses. That included a box at our summer church, St. Martha's Episcopal Church in Bethany Beach.
The glasses were then taken to Delaware corrections institutions where they were cleaned and their prescriptions determined, a huge undertaking coordinated by the Delaware Lions Sight Team. In the past three years, we have carried nearly I0,000 pairs of prescription glasses from Delaware to an Episcopal health clinic in San Pedro de Macoris where our team has evaluated and addressed the visual needs of several thousand townspeople.
Thanks to the people of Delaware, we found a new use for old glasses and provided the magic of improved sight. Some people are actually seeing clearly for the first time in their lives. Our team saw this exciting reaction firsthand. But you, Delaware, and the glasses you donated have made it possible.
Haydee and Jim Toedtman
Bethany Beach
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