SOSH in Haiti

Each year since SOSH (Students in Optometric Service to Humanity) was founded at PCO in 1969, Salus/PCO students participate in a trip to an underdeveloped country in the Caribbean. SOSH was created by PCO student Algernon Phillips, OD ’69, who organized the first SOSH mission in 1968. The SOSH mission was and is to bring needed medical eye care to people living in countries with poverty unlike any seen by American students. Since that PCO mission SOSH – now found in all schools of optometry in North America – has seen members volunteer in Africa, the Caribbean and North, Central and South America and bring eye exams, vision care and eyeglasses to hundreds of thousands in need.

This month 18 students and two doctors from Salus/PCO traveled to Haiti. They examined 1,362 patients over four days in different villages in the Cap-Haitien area, providing glasses, sunglasses, and ophthalmic medications as necessary. According to Jenna Roney ’17OD, Student Council president and SOSH member, “We had the opportunity to evaluate an expansive array of ocular pathology, mostly induced by harsh environmental conditions.” For their one free afternoon during the trip, the students toured the Citadelle and learned about Haitian history and culture. 

Throughout the year leading up to the humanitarian trip SOSH members hold fundraisers and solicit donations of much needed equipment, supplies, lenses and frames, as well as eyeglasses. The students clean the donated eyeglasses, identifying and tagging their prescription strengths in preparation for distributing them. Each year after their trip SOSH members return to campus and are unanimous in their agreement that the opportunity to serve those in dire need of vision and eye care is one of the highlights of their Salus/PCO experience. As Roney said of this year’s trip, ”We all had a rewarding experience sharing in this trip of a lifetime!”

Photo credit: Ryan Chia
Video credit: AJ Pastor & Ryan Chia