Spreading the gift of vision in Mexico

Times Reporter

 

Donation boxes for the Canadian Lions Eyeglass Recycling Centre, CLERC, are set up in various locations around town and across the country.  Bernie Gribben, from Calgary, runs CLERC. They provide eyeglasses to those in need in all over the world. 

“We have Lions in Strathmore who collect glasses for us, and the Strathmore Lions Club has always been very supportive,” said Gribben. 

Art Eeles is one of those Strathmore Lions who brings the glasses into Calgary, and to Gribben, whenever he makes a trip to Calgary. 

The program collects glasses from coast to coast in Canada, which are then shipped to Calgary. The CLERC program gathers as many as 30,000 pair of glasses per month. Upon arrival of the glasses in Calgary, Gribben takes them to the Calgary Correctional Centre in Spy Hill. The offenders there sort, sanitize, hand dry, inspect, repair where possible and then read for prescription on one of four lensometers. Once the prescription has been established, the prescription is attached to a Ziploc bag and the individual glasses go inside. The glasses are then packaged into boxes of 350, according to type. Since 1996, inmates have been volunteering their time to sanitize, inspect and repair them.

Recently Gribben had the opportunity to go to Mexico to distribute the eyeglasses first hand.  

“I think it was an opportunity to be able to see what happens at the other end and making sure that the glasses are being distributed correctly,” said Gribben. 

 “The main reason for that is because this may be the only pair of glasses these people will ever receive.”

He left on Nov. 19 and returned to Calgary on Dec. 2.  There were 10 people from Quebec and two from Manitoba. Rick Forti was the only other Calgary area resident to go on the trip. There were six doctors to make sure everyone was fitted correctly, plus 26 fourth year students from two different schools of optometry. 16 of those students were from Chicago and the other 10 came from Brisbane, Australia. 

“We had to make 82 pair of glasses because we didn’t have suitable prescriptions for individuals,” said Gribben.

The glasses were made and shipped off to Mexico, and they should be in the hands of the recipients this week, said Gribben. 

He said they distributed 3,600 pair of glasses while they were in Mexico, including the three millionth pair, which went to an 84-year-old man. 

“I think we learned quite a bit and we brought back some ideas to improve distribution of the eyeglasses,” said Gribben. 

He said they probably should have gone years ago, but never had the opportunity. Now that they have been there, they look forward to going again in the future.

“All of us had a good time. It was a good experience and the three millionth is away and we’re working on the next million.”