March 4, 2019 – SAN DIEGO – A team of volunteers sent by San Diego-based International Relief Teams (IRT) will head to Palenque, Mexico on Wednesday,March 6 to screen and fit hundreds of children and adults with distance and reading glasses as part of IRT’s “Better Vision, Brighter Future” program. For one week, the six-member team will provide this essential service in one of the poorest states of Mexico, Chiapas.
The San Diego-based volunteers will leave on Wednesday, March 6; Interjet Flight #2401, departing Tijuana,Mexico at 12:25 am.
More than 70% of the population lives in poverty in Chiapas. Many indigenous Mexicans in this area of the country have little or no access to eye care and suffer needlessly.
“These eyeglasses are small miracles for the poor,” says Rose Uranga, IRT Director of Operations & Program Development. “They enable school children to learn,and give adults the ability to work and provide for their families.”
Rose Uranga will lead the team on Wednesday; she has previously led volunteer teams to more than 10 countries over the past 25 years. The team includes Kennette Bryant, Tierrasanta; Kimbie Palacio,San Diego; Carol Hart, Solana Beach; Monica Pla, Carlsbad; Peggy Brannen, Ramona.
Since 2005, IRT volunteers have screened more than 12,300 children and adults, and provided more than 10,800 pairs of eyeglasses in four countries. IRT has worked in Mexico since 1989 providing disaster relief and health care to thousands of people across the country.
Professional photos available
International Relief Teams alleviates the suffering caused by poverty and disaster around the globe, from the forgotten corners of the world to right here at home, by sending volunteer teams and medical supplies to make immediate change for the world’s most vulnerable people. For more information visit www.irteams.org.
