Vision Camp: Los Angeles, CA
A Vision Camp was organized by the SSSIO-USA Pacific South Region at the White Memorial Hospital in downtown Los Angeles, CA on Sunday, December 3, 2023 from 9 am to 1 pm. The event was organized in collaboration with the Lions International of downtown Los Angeles.
More than 35 SSSIO members, including Young Adults (YAs) from the region, along with 20 members of the local Lions club, volunteered at the camp. The camp served 125 low-income individuals without vision insurance. Participants underwent eye exams using vision testing equipment. Eight optometrists from the White Memorial Hospital were on hand to carry out the exams and provide the correct eye prescription. Participants then received the right prescription glasses from volunteers manning the inventory of glasses which had been generously donated by the Lions club.
Those who received eye glasses were filled with gratitude and tears of joy, as they could see more clearly now after many years of suffering from blurred eyesight. They referred to the volunteers as "Angels of Light", a testimony to how deeply they appreciated this invaluable gift of clearer vision. Sai volunteers were equally moved to be able to assist those in desperate need of something as precious as eyesight, which so many of us take for granted.
A Sai volunteer commented “I got so emotional watching the happiness and tears of joy of the recipients as they wore their new eyeglasses after their eye exam. I was so grateful to our dear Sai for giving us this opportunity to help another person see the world more clearly through this Vison Camp.”
On December 2, 2023, 19 Sai volunteers (eight ladies and 11 men) gathered at 9 a.m. to pack 200 dry food packets containing rice, beans, pasta, and nuts. The dry food packets were distributed the following day to all participants at the Vision Camp.
On the day of the Vision Camp, some Sai Center members from Arcadia and Glendale cooked rice, dal, curry, and salad for lunch, as a way to thank the volunteers who had contributed to the success of the Vision Camp.