A Douglas-based optometrist has described her “truly incredible” and “life-changing” experience providing vital eye care to communities in Malawi.
Kelly McMullin, of Gillian Sheard Opticians, joined a Cardiff University initiative, spending over three weeks on the self-funded outreach trip.
Eye care professionals are scarce, expensive and often geographically inaccessible across Malawi, leaving many residents to go without essential vision support.
Kelly said: “It was a truly incredible experience and I’m really thankful that I was able to go and not only help others by improving their vision but also to help the community long-term by providing resources, knowledge and training that will improve their eye care services for generations.”
Thank You
Spectacle donations made by people across the Isle of Man have been donated directly to individuals who were provided with sight tests, with any that weren’t used during the trip being donated to Malawi for future eye testing use.
She also paid tribute to local support, adding: “I’d also like to extend a huge heartfelt thank you to the Isle of Man community, who rallied together to donate thousands of pairs of glasses, which we were able to bring with us and donate to Malawi communities.
“It makes me so proud and grateful to be surrounded by so many kind people and to see the impact that can have on those less fortunate than us around the world is amazing – it’s quite literally life-changing.”
The team funded over 270 cataract surgeries and provided sight tests to approximately 1,000 people.
Reflecting on the challenges, Kelly said: “It was really tough at times. There were instances where we could see pathology but had no way to fix it with Malawi’s current infrastructure. Sometimes their vision had simply declined too far.”
“However, everything we did felt worth it,” she said. “It really opens your eyes to how much you can help someone using the skills that you’ve learnt over the years.”
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