Vision Aid Overseas -- Transforming people's lives by giving them back the gift of sight.

Vision Aid Overseas is a UK charity which helps people in the Third World to see properly again.

The idea is a very simple one. VAO collects thousands of pairs of unused spectacles (glasses) from all over the UK. The spectacles are then sorted and graded. Teams of qualified opticians take the glasses to Third World Countries where they hold clinics and give eye tests to the local population. They then give suitable glasses to those who have difficulty seeing.

Often they are able to transform the lives of the people they treat on the spot. Young people whose eye sight is so bad that they are forced to leave school are now able to return to their studies. Working people who depend on their sight for their jobs are able to work again.