The Week’s Asmita Manandhar talked to Hanne Kroken, 31, one of the board members of Vision for All, Norway, and Linda Veraasdal, 34, owner of Ethical Travel Portal, about their experiences as tourists and volunteers in Nepal.[break]
How would you introduce your organizations?
Hanne: Vision for All is a small organization based in Norway and working to improve eye health conditions in different countries since 2003. We have basically conducted eye-camps in various countries and helped many people with our distinct campaign. We collect used glasses in Norway and carry them to different destinations where we can offer them to people who can reuse them. We have already conducted such campaigns in Peru, Guatemala and Ecuador before coming to Nepal.
Bhaswor Ojha
Linda Veraasdal (L) and Hanne Kroken sharing their experiences with organizing eye camps at two villages of Nawalparasi district and their leisurely visit to other touristic destinations in Nepal.
Linda: Ethical Travel Portal is basically a travel agency. I set up the company some 4-5 years ago. Though it’s a travel company, we run it with the concept that we don’t simply send people to different places but also connect people to those places. We believe in responsible tourism, and while traveling to different places, we also look for ways where tourists can give back to the community. Ethical Travel Portal has already organized many trips with similar concept but it’s the first venture with Vision for All, Norway.
How did you decide to collaborate? And why did you choose Nepal?
Linda: I have always been interested in meeting people and organizations which work closely to the concept of Ethical Travel Portal. So a year back, while I was browsing through the Internet searching for any such campaigns happening in Norway, I came across Vision for All. I really liked their idea of traveling to different countries with a cause.
I had visited Nepal 2009 and I was aware that socialtours travel agency in Nepal had been doing something similar in contributing to responsible tourism. Then I contacted Vision for All and suggested to them that Nepal could be one of their next destinations.
Hanne: After Linda’s suggestion, we put forward the idea at the board meeting, and since everyone was happy with the idea, we began planning our trip to Nepal.
Can you elaborate the processes of recycling used glasses and eye camps?
Hanne: We have a campaign back in Norway where we ask for people to donate their used glasses. It’s common for people with eye conditions such as myopia or hyperopia to alter their frames or glasses in regard to change in power, or to follow the latest fashion. Many people also have sunglasses they don’t use anymore.
So, after we collect such glasses, we clean them, check their strength and package them. For this, we work with opticians and assist them to file the glasses in correct order. After we’ve collected enough for an eye camp, we plan a trip to different countries where these glasses can be useful. Generally, we choose rural areas where we can actually offer these glasses to needy people.
Why do you think that this campaign is important?
Hanne: There are many campaigns in developed countries where they collect funds and send it away to poor countries. But the campaigns with Vision for All require its members or volunteers to actively participate in the process.
After the collection of the glasses, we have to take time to clean those glasses and sort them out according to the power strength of the glasses. Then, during the trip, all the members need to make space in their personal luggage where they have to accommodate certain number of glasses. And of course, when we’re conducting the camps, they need to work with the local volunteers to help the patrons of the camp and distribute them with the suitable glasses.
When you just donate money, you can’t be sure if your help has been useful in the ways you wanted to. But when you participate in this campaign, you aren’t just recycling but also experiencing the real joy of giving, and you know for sure that your help has gone through.
How do you choose volunteers to travel to different countries?
Hanne: Mostly, we circulate the message among the members of Vision for All and anyone can join us. Then we create a team of ten people at the most, balancing between the opticians and assistants. When people sign in to travel, we conduct crash workshop on how to deal with the people and present them with correct glasses of required power strength.
Linda: Like many, I was a newbie to this campaign. So I also had to take the training. Initially, I had no idea of power glasses and eye conditions. But I learnt, and now after the camp, I feel that I’m very eager to participate in other camps such as this.
How was experience of conducting the camp in Nepal?
Linda: We were four from Norway and we were joined by a group of six other volunteers. So we had a team of 10 when we went to set up the camp at two aforementioned villages of Nawalparasi. The participation of volunteers from the local communities was also extraordinary. They were basically school students and they were of great help to the campaign, as they guided the needy through the different setup within the camp according to their health requirements. Since we had language barrier, the local volunteers filled in the gap and helped the camp to be of great success.
Hanne: Though the Til Ganga Institute of Ophthalmology (TIO) of Kathmandu wasn’t directly involved with the campaign, they also provided us with great help by sending opticians and 600 pairs of glasses to be distributed free during the camp. We screened 2,850 patients altogether in the two camps and distributed around 2,000 pairs of glasses. Two hundred cases of cataract were also screened during the camp, and the best part is that Dr. Suman Thapa of TIO will coordinate the surgeries on the cataract cases in the first week of June.
How do you think was the local people’s reaction to the camp?
Linda: Looking at the participation and enthusiasm of local volunteers, I think they were pretty happy to be part of the camp. The number of patients screened at the camp also speaks for the achievement for the camp.
Hanne: Most of the times, we couldn’t directly talk to the patients as we couldn’t speak the local language. But as the volunteers translated the basic precautions to save their eyes, they were very keen to understand it and seemed very satisfied and grateful.
Apart from the camp, did you have a chance to visit other places?
Hanne: Nepal is a beautiful country. We were surprised by the variation of the landscape. Apart from Nawalparasi, where the camp was set up, we went to Chitwan National Park for elephant safari. We also visited Pokhara for two days. I also went paragliding in Pokhara. It was an amazing experience. I’m looking forward to come back to Nepal for a good trekking experience.
Related story
Kerala Tourism’s first STREET project inaugurated in Maravanthu...
