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Dr. James Vaught’s VOSH-Illinois mission trip to Bolivia |
Our own Dr. James Vaught traveled with VOSH-Illinois (Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity ) to Santa Cruz, Bolivia, in January 2010. James writes “We saw 2,200 patients on Mon, Tues, Wed, and Thur. in Santa Cruz. All patients who needed glasses got them. Several patients were referred for cataract surgery. ..Bolivia is the poorest country in South America. The need was great.”
What follows is a report by Mel Muchnik, one of the team, on his experiences as a first-time VOSH volunteer:
 How does one describe a first VOSH mission experience? Anticipation, inspiration, selflessness, tears, laughter, fatigue, renewal, extraordinary are only a beginning. All are part of the VOSH mission paradigm in geographic locations that are both challenging and inspiring on so many levels. The medical and cultural rewards are seemingly endless. On my first VOSH mission, I actually found a place that had speed bumps on a two-lane toll road. Perhaps that’s a metaphor, both literally and figuratively, but as those who have been on a VOSH mission know, that could describe many a VOSH challenge. With VOSH-Illinois in Bolivia there was that, but so much more. From first timers to some with as many at 40 plus missions, the team bonded by the time we landed first in La Paz, the highest capital in the world and a city above tree line (the airport is over 4,000 meters altitude or over 13,000 feet) then on to the low lands of Santa Cruz de la Sierra.
The team of 23, coordinated by Natalie Venezia, was composed of 6 Optometrists, 1 optician, and 16 lay volunteers including four teens.We also had the pleasure of working with 4 optometry students and their Academic Director, David Miranda Garcia, who traveled from the Optometry School at Centro de Educacion Profesional Filadelfia in La Paz, Bolivia. They came to work with VOSH Illinois in order to obtain first hand experience in a VOSH mission. They have applied to become part of the VOSH International family by filing an application to form a Student VOSH Chapter.
The mission was a successful collaboration between VOSH-Illinois, several Lions Clubs in the Department of Santa Cruz, the Cooperative Rural de Electrification (CRE) and the Universidad de Aquino Bolivia (UDABOL). The Lions Clubs were out in force for our arrival at the Santa Cruz airport holding letters aloft spelling out “Bienvenido” with hugs, tears and laughter setting the scene for what would become a warm working relationship joining the VOSH team and our Bolivian sponsors shoulder to shoulder throughout. All of our hosts were organized, gracious, compassionate and generous. CRE provided busses to bring patients in from the outlying areas of the city. CRE and the Lions volunteered their time and fed and entertained us well. Two days prior to our arrival, the original clinic site fell through and UDABOL offered us their beautiful, spacious and even air-conditioned space at the University. It was truly collaborative in all respects. We felt like an extended family, enjoying mutual respect and camaraderie.
As a result of the combined efforts, the VOSH Illinois team was able to treat 2,200 patients in just four days. In the first 11-hour day, we saw 561 patients. It became more sane as the week progressed. We were exhausted but gratified that we could help so many.
 The four teens were an incredible addition providing energy and spirit, and just their presence made it a true inter-generational experience for all. Importantly, the mission experience had a positive effect on all of them. As 15 year-old Mara Weisbach of Chicago, whose VOSH seasoned grandparents took her on this mission, said on her return, “After two days, I still have more stories ... [and] ... I must confess, I've looked up all the VOSH missions in the next year, and have begun to harass my mother about letting me go on another one.” Fourteen year old Annie Sager, daughter of our coordinator, described her experiences this way: “It was exhilarating to be part of this. I learned so much from the people I worked with and from the patients too.” Eleven year old Thea Toocheck, who accompanied her optometrist father, had raised $200 at her school to donate to an orphanage in Bolivia. Through a fortuitous meeting with a local gentlemen connected with a local orphanage, we were able to treat Bolivian iconic Father La Aldea and 30 children from one of his seven orphanages. Thea and her father were able to visit the orphanage to make the greatly appreciated donation.
At the end of the work week, the now exhausted team, energized by what had been accomplished, journeyed west 3–hours to Samaipata, in a beautiful region at the foot of the Andes, along treacherous and sometimes barely existing roads, hiked to waterfalls and the mysterious archaeological site of El Fuerte near the area of wilderness of Amboro Park.
What struck this first timer was our farewell dinner that night in Samaipata. There all of the team members on the R&R had a chance to give their impressions of the mission and what it meant personally. The impressions were often emotional as we reflected on lives changed, both ours and our patients, drawing us all even closer.
The mission transcended politics of populations served and the team itself. Clearly it was focused on serving humanity, the VOSH credo. We worked hard, saw those incredible oft-cited smiles, at times became teary, laughed hard together and across cultures with our Bolivian friends, and in the evenings and aftermath reflected on the wonder of it all.
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