Guest Features
Local vision clinic, staff, bring sight to hundreds of Colombia’s needy
Brianna Pickering | Guest Writer
As every true Lehi Pioneer knows, serving our community holds our city together. Giving to others freely what they could not provide themselves is what transformed our small, farming town into the thriving city we know today, one act of service at a time. Whether that’s through supporting small businesses, attending barbeques, or cheering for the Lehi Roundup, Lehi’s undeniable spirit of connection continues to inspire acts of goodwill across the city– and in some cases, across the globe.
Dr. Roger Pickering, local optometrist and founder of Lehi Vision Care, has taken Lehi’s spirit of giving across the equator and into the country of Colombia. He provided his staff the opportunity to join him on an expedition to provide sight saving humanitarian aid. For several years, Dr. Pickering has partnered with Eagle Condor Humanitarian, offering his services to bring optometric care to the world, free of charge. On a day-to-daybasis, the average doctor sees 20-30 patients. Dr. Pickering, alongside Dr. John Larcabal and Dr. Corina Van De Pol, averaging five hundred patients per day over the course of their expedition.
When most people picture Colombia, the city of Cartagena immediately comes to mind. Rich in history and in vibrant nightlife, Cartagena draws in tourists and partygoers from countries everywhere. What most people don’t see are poverty-stricken towns and villages just outside the city limits. These towns and villages are where the clinics took place.
The first two clinics opened in the province of Turbaco. Housed in a chapel on day one and the local cultural center on day two, Drs. Pickering, Larcabal, and Van De Pol set up their medical center in the limited space provided. Hundreds of people lined up for hours in the humid, suffocating heat–with no plumbing or air conditioning– for the chance to be seen by the doctors. Dr. Pickering’s vision team labored through workdays over ten hours long, with little respite from the intensive conditions. Despite this, there wasn’t an unhappy face as they left the clinic. Patients and doctors alike connected through their mutual humanity–a bond that surpasses borders and dissolves language barriers.
The next two clinics were held in the city of Baru. Isla Barú used to be a peninsula south of Cartagena. However, once it was cut off from the mainland by the Dique Canal, Baru became accessible only by bridge. The journey to Baru each day was an hour-long bus ride on winding, dirt roads with gaping ditches and potholes. The patients lined the streets of the village, someleaving the clinic in tears, as they were able to see clearly for the first time in their lives. One such patient, a woman in her early thirties, entered the building unable to see the faces of anyone around her– and left with the ability to see the world.
The final clinic took place on the largest of the Rosario islands, Isla Grande. This island, only ten square miles, houses less than a thousand people in the village of Orika. While in Orika, Dr. Pickering and his team were honored to serve at the Roots of Faith Foundation, organized and created by local resident Santander Julio. The foundation’s goal is to provide children who grow up on Isla Grande with the same opportunities as those on the mainland. Many of these children have never left the island. Due to this, they have no access to school, cultural education, or the outside world. Santander generously allowed Dr. Pickering and his team to create a temporary clinic inside his home on the island. After the exams, the children of the Roots of Faith Foundation gave each crew member handmade bracelets as a small thanks for the service provided.
In total, Dr. Pickering and the team of Lehi Vision Care handed out over 1000 pairs of sunglasses, 1200 pairs of reading glasses, and over 600 pairs of prescription glasses. None of this could’ve been possible without the ongoing support and donations from our community here in Lehi. Many patients of Dr. Pickering donated their unused or outdated pairs of glasses to the clinic, bringing Lehi love all the way to South America.
Please donate old glasses to Lehi Vision Care at 86 West Main Street, or visit their website for other opportunities to serve. For more information on Eagle Condor Humanitarian, or their future expeditions, visit eaglecondor.org to see how you can help.
