Dr. Anshu Chandra is a fellow Rotarian and an optometrist based in Upstate New York. She is presenting the life-changing eye care her volunteer team provides in rural Haiti.
Since 2010, she has been serving communities with little or no access to eye care. In 2015, they established a small, full-time clinic inside the local hospital in Fond-des-Blancs. What began as a modest effort has grown into one of Haiti’s busiest and most trusted eye centers. Their team has provided over 132,088 free eye exams, restored sight, prevented avoidable blindness, and delivered care to thousands of patients who would otherwise go without. On a typical day, they see more than 100 patients, many of whom walk hours or even days to reach the clinic.
Sustainability is central to their work. The clinic functions as a training center for Haitian staff, equipping local professionals with the skills to deliver high-quality, internationally aligned care. Each year, they serve up to 15,000 people on a budget of less than $50,000 through the Global Eye Project, a fully volunteer-run nonprofit with no administrative overhead.
They are currently facing a critical challenge: the hospital that houses their clinic will soon reclaim the space. They have secured land, acquired equipment, trained a Haitian team, and completed architectural plans with Architects Without Borders to build a permanent facility. Ensuring this essential service continues uninterrupted is their highest priority.
She will share this story with our club, including the journey, the lives changed, and the path forward to sustaining eye care in one of Haiti’s most underserved regions.