Previous Missions
Belize Mission October 15-23, 2023 In the middle of October 2022, fourteen volunteers with the VOSH MN Chapter traveled to Belize in conjunction with the Belize Mission Project. The goal for this trip was just like any other mission: to help as any people get eye exams, glasses, and medical treatment as possible. To say…
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The MN and SD VOSH chapters combined to go to Port Antonio, Jamaica from Feb. 24th to March 3rd, 2019. The mission was led by Dr. Larry Morrison, an optometrist from Detroit Lakes, MN. With the help of social media and the VOSH International website, the group was larger than usual with 29 people going.…
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A group of twelve VOSH-MN volunteers joined the Belize Mission Project, a multi-disciplinary mission, to provide care to the people of Belize. Over the course of four days, the eye care team examined over 500 Belizean patients, offering eyeglasses and medical treatments. Our team traveled between Ambergris Caye, Corozal, and Orange Walk to provide care…
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VOSH MN took a group of 27 volunteers, San Felix, Panama from Feb 8, 2020- Feb 16, 2020. The group was led by Dr. Erin Sinkoff and Kirk Thomas. There were a total of 6 optometrists and 2 ophthalmologists on the team. A total of 1103 patients were seen over 3 days. The patients were…
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This was VOSH trip number 14 for Dale and me. VOSH has allowed us to be more than merely beach-sitting tourists. Don’t get me wrong, I love being a tourist and I occasionally sit on a beach for a few minutes. I love helping people too. VOSH has allowed me to combine travel and helping…
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VOSH trip to El Salvador 2019 This was VOSH trip number 14 for Dale and me. VOSH has allowed us to be more than merely beach-sitting tourists. Don’t get me wrong, I love being a tourist and I occasionally sit on a beach for a few minutes. I love helping people too. VOSH has allowed…
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The MN and SD VOSH chapters combined to go to Port Antonio, Jamaica from Feb. 24th to March 3rd , 2019. The mission was led by Dr. Larry Morrison, an optometrist from Detroit Lakes, MN. With the help of social media and the VOSH International website, the group was larger than usual with 29 people…
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VOSH Minnesota and FUDEM February 20‐24, 2017 This VOSH Minnesota trip will be lead by Dr. Julie L Walsh and hosted by FUDEM in El Salvador. We need to bring a supply of reading glasses, FUDEM will supply the prescription glasses. FUDEM charges $600 per participant which covers all meals, lodging, and transportation during the work week. They usually also include an afternoon…
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October 2017 was VOSH-Minnesota’s 5th trip to Tanzania, and our 2nd trip to Marangu, on the slopes of Kilimanjaro. Our team consisted of 40 people, including 6 optometrists, 2 ophthalmologists, 11 VOSH rookies, and the rest we hard working VOSH veterans. Marangu is at an altitude of 5,000 feet, and the home of the Ngaruma…
Read MoreFebruary 13-21, 2016 We worked 2 days in San Felix and one in Boquete, Panama. The Rotary helped us out in Boquete and some workers from the Jesuit mission where we worked in San Felix assisted us there. Our resort was a half hour drive from our work site in San Felix. The area was called Las Lajas.…
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Papua New Guinea, Sept. 7-10, 2015 Participants for this mission were Julie L Walsh, OD, PhD and Dale Simmons in collaboration with PNG Eyecare. Joycelyn Kali, Refractionist, represented PNG Eyecare. We were joined by local ophthalmologist Waime Wahamu, MD and nurse Judith Dupi. The clinic took place at the Madan Community Center Clinic at the…
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This mission was led by Bob Boeding and hosted by Club Rotario Portoviejo Reales Tamarindos. Lodging was in private homes of Rotary members. The mission team included 8 students from the University of Waterloo. Five traveled to the Galapagos Islands for three days following the clinic days.
Read MoreMission leader: Larry, Morrison, O.D. drlarry@morrisoneyecare.com
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My First VOSH Mission I felt both elated and terrified when I first sent the email to Minnesota VOSH to confirm my participation in the 2014 VOSH Mission to the Philippines. I had so many questions! Will I be safe traveling as a solo female? What vaccinations will I need? What do I pack?…and the…
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Mission Report 34 volunteers from 8 different states left Oct. 11 for Marangu, Tanzania. We were hosted by the Ngaruma Lutheran Church of Marangu and we worked at the Marangu Lutheran Hospital. Marangu is on the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro at 5,000 feet, so it was a very comfortable working area and had great views…
Read MoreDr. Larry Morrison of Detroit Lakes, MN led a mission in conjunction with both MN and SD VOSH to Port Antonio, Jamaica. A team of twenty which included six optometrists, several opticians, and other volunteers saw 1,100 patients and dispensed over 2,000 pairs of glasses including several hundred plano sunglasses to the needy people of…
Read MoreMission Report The mission began with a flight to Lima, Peru where our group spent the night in order to wait for our next flight the following day to Cusco. We arrived and settled in to either our hotel or hostel. Coca tea was given to us in order to help fight off altitude sickness.…
Read MoreFirst Time VOSH’er When the opportunity arose to join a VOSH trip to Mexico this past January, I have to admit that I was a bit nervous. I hadn’t done any optometric volunteer work before and didn’t know many of the other people going on the trip. However, getting out of Minnesota in January was…
Read MoreMission Report Our trip this year was VOSH-MN’s third trip to the Philippines, and it was another good one! Fourteen volunteers headed out on a 17+ hour airplane odyssey that ended in Manila, where we all overnighted. Then it was off to the island of Busuanga, in the province of Palawan, another one hour flight.…
Read MoreMission Report Three optometrists (from NY, KY, and NC) and five optometry students from the University of Waterloo in Canada accompanied VOSH-MN President Bob Boeding to Ecuador in August 10-19th, 2011. They were hosted and stayed in the homes of The Club Rotario Portoviejo Reales Tamarindos. Within four days of clinic, they were able to…
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