Her journey began in Fond-des-Blancs, Haiti, where she witnessed the impact of limited access to eye care and preventable vision loss. Since 2015, she has helped develop a clinic that has grown from a one-room operation into a facility with 11 examinations stations, more than 140,000 free eye examinations and thousands of sight-saving procedures. The clinic also screens premature babies for retinopathy and has recently launched a school vision screening programme.
Dr. Chandra highlighted glaucoma, diabetes, hypertension, sickle cell disease, infections and trauma as major contributors to vision loss, while emphasizing that delayed access to treatment is a significant factor in preventable blindness.
The Global Eye Project is now working toward a permanent eye-care facility, as its current clinic space will no longer be available. The new centre will support continued patient care, surgical services, an optical laboratory and training for Haitian eye-care professionals.
The presentation provided members with a powerful reminder of the importance of accessible, sustainable healthcare and community-based service, while highlighting opportunities for Rotary collaboration and support.