Paul and Cynthia Dusseault from Edmonton. They have started Misión Claridad in Ecuador which provides free cataract surgery, eye exams and glasses to people in need.Supplied
The organizers: Paul and Cynthia Dusseault
The pitch: Creating Misión Claridad
The reason: To promote eye care in Ecuador
A few years ago, Paul and Cynthia Dusseault were in Ecuador helping set up a computer room in a school when they met a local social worker.
The Edmonton couple had been involved in a number of projects in the country sponsored by their Rotary Club. They wanted to do something bigger.
The social worker “immediately said that a real problem they have there is people with limited resources, if they get cataracts, they can’t afford surgery,” Mr. Dusseault recalled. “If you have no money, you don’t get surgery and you can go blind.”
Cataracts are a leading cause of blindness in many developing countries, particularly in parts of Ecuador where there is high exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet rays.
The couple – who are both in their 60s – returned home and began looking for ophthalmologists who could travel to Ecuador and perform surgeries. It took two years to pull together but in 2022 they launched Misión Claridad, or Mission Clarity, and brought together a team of a dozen people including ophthalmologists, nurses, an optometrist and others. The group spent a week performing surgeries and conducting eye tests in Cuenca, in central Ecuador. Last fall an even larger group went for a week and another trip is planned for later this year.
So far Misión Claridad has performed 236 surgeries, administered 652 eye tests and provided free glasses to 360 people. They’ve also organized donations of equipment so that local hospitals can perform the operations and they work with the country’s public-health department which selects candidates for the free surgery.
The team members pay all their expenses and the Dusseaults raise money to cover the cost of medical supplies and medicine.
The people they treat “are so grateful,” Mr. Dusseault said. They go from being nearly blind to having perfect vision. “It’s like an awakening.”
Ms. Dusseault said she’s often overcome by how much the surgery means to people. “I think you get more hugs in a week than you’ve ever had in your lifetime.”