Resident, Local Nonprofit Bring Vision to Nicaragua

To bring 200 pairs of eyeglasses to those in need in Nicaragua, New Eyes for the Needy partnered up with resident and Board of Education member Lise Chapman and the Yale Alumni Service Corps.

Chapman and her alumni group saw daily hour-long lines of men, women, and children form outside the makeshift medical clinic in the small town of Troilo, Nicaragua.

“This is a small community without electricity and running water, located over one hour on dirt roads outside of Leon,” Chapman said. “It was an incredible experience to help each community resident try on a pair of glasses and see clearly for the very first time.” 

Chapman and her alumni group saw daily hour-long lines of men, women, and children form outside the makeshift medical clinic in Troilo.

"This is what makes all of our work worthwhile,” said Jean Gajano, Executive Director of New Eyes. “A new pair of glasses gives these individuals a new lease on life. It shows how those used glasses in the back of a drawer or at the bottom of a purse can make a deep and meaningful impact on a poor person’s life."

Once the residents were fitted with glasses, they checked their corrected vision by reading the fine print on water bottles.

Chapman said once they were able to see clearly they began to cry. 

“Their faces captured it all expressing such joy,” she said.