Local student prepares for Kolkata charity trip

A local student is travelling to Kolkata, India with Specsavers and The Hope Foundation to help provide vital eye care to disadvantaged communities.

Omima Mukasssabi is a third-year optometry student in TU Dublin and has worked in Specsavers Tullamore during her time in college.

She will join this volunteer trip to Kolkata on November 26 to conduct critical eye exams and offer people in the local communities much-needed eye care. Specsavers Tullamore are supporting her trip by hosting a fundraising coffee morning on November 5th at 11am and encourage the community of Tullamore to come along.

Omima will be travelling to Kolkata, with a team of expert opticians in partnership with The Hope Foundation charity to provide extensive optical care to those living in slum communities. Along with the local community, Tullamore’s local pets also got dressed up to help promote the fundraiser!

Omima has worked in Specsavers Tullamore for a year and a half and hopes to become an optometrist in the store once she has finished her studies.

Omima says: "I chose to do optometry because I wanted to help people and this project in Kolkata is the perfect opportunity. Working in an opticians such as Specsavers, you get to see the positive impact you have on people’s lives every day. The work that The Hope foundation puts into supporting these communities is outstanding and it’s incredible to be part of a project that will have such a positive impact on so many people who are less fortunate.."

Deirdre Mannion, Tullamore Store Director adds: "We are delighted to support the Hope Foundation with our coffee morning and look forward to welcoming the community into our store on November 5th".

With the help of Specsavers, The Hope Foundation established a Blindness Eradication Programme in Kolkata bringing improved eyecare to families living in street and slum communities.

To date, Specsavers has conducted eye tests for more than 25,500 adults and children in 151 eye camps. With this care, Specsavers has dispensed over 14,000 pairs of glasses across Kolkata.

This care has been made possible with generous customer donations made in Specsavers stores across the country. Through the use of Tap to Donate machines and instore fundraisers, Specsavers are continuing to support the running of the Hope Eye Clinic in Kolkata including purchasing much-needed equipment for the Hope Hospital to provide high-quality eye care to the underprivileged people of Kolkata.

The Hope Foundation founder, Maureen Forrester, says: "We are thankful to every single store that helps to raise vital funds for our charity. Our partnership with Specsavers is very important to us. It allows us to provide support to many people suffering with their eyesight in Kolkata and we are forever grateful for that."

For more information or to make a donation, please visit Specsavers Tullamore (057) 936 5980, or visit https://www.specsavers.ie/stores/tullamore.