iCare has finished its fourth year changing lives in Jamaica! iCare is a program that is put on by Great Shape! Inc., that provides free eye care and nursing services to the people of Jamaica. This year the program took place in two separate locations: the Grange Hill Community Center in Westmoreland during the week of October 8th, and the Eltham Community Center in St. Ann, the following week of October 15th.
iCare continues to encounter more patients than they can serve, and the number continues to grow. This year, an astonishing amount of 12,317 pairs of glasses were given out to patients in Jamaica! It is not uncommon for some patients to travel five or more hours just to get to the clinics. Steven Stern, Program Director of iCare, said that they met many school children who were unable to see the blackboard. Now, these students can return to school with glasses and the opportunity to learn.
The patients are not the only people who are touched by iCare. “The volunteers are continually moved by faces that light up with elation and tears of joy as a pair of glasses allows a patient to see properly, often for the first time in their life,” says Stern.