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On top of her busy schedule as a second-year student in the Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO) at Salus University, Edesthele Decius ‘26OD released a children’s book titled, “Grandma, Can You See?” on Feb. 6, 2024.
“[What inspired me to write this book was] my background. I always take it back to this little girl from Haiti where there is a lack of healthcare,” said Decius. “Ever since I was little I told myself that I wanted to be a doctor to help decrease the health disparity and help to give back to the underserved population of Haiti.”
The concept of a children’s book came about from Decius’ passion for working with/for children. Before landing on a career in optometry, she considered becoming a pediatrician, and at one point was a teacher for younger children.
“I am a firm believer that educating children while they are young will help them, if they know about it they can go about it,” she said. “I targeted this book toward children to get them interested in optometry, and get them outside of the world they are used to. It’s not that kids aren’t driven or passionate about different fields, often they just don’t know about them. As a first generation, I had to rely on many mentors to shape me into becoming a better person and to reach this point in life.”
As a child, Decius’ grandmother experienced vision problems that affected her daily activities. She was misinformed about the removal of her cataracts and the impact it would have on her vision. Her grandmother’s experience and the vision problems prevalent within her family motivated Decius to pursue a Doctor of Optometry degree, and she hopes to go back to Haiti to offer her help and educate the Haitian population on eye care.
Her advocacy work for the optometric profession and education goes far beyond her book. She also founded a non-profit called “Restoring Hope Charities Incorporated” where she gives back to children in Haiti. The organization has been able to fundraise to send children to school, send toys to families for Christmas, and offer food to different families as well.
The idea started with Decius traveling to Guyana and Haiti to volunteer. After her experience, she decided to create a volunteer project/organization personal to herself. The first project was providing relief to Haitians after the 2010 earthquake, and in the words of Decius, “turned out to be something much bigger than I could’ve ever imagined.”
“I am raised in a family that is always giving back, and growing up watching them made me feel like this is something that I want to do,” she said. “I remember when I was in college, my mom wanted to go back to Haiti to feed the people in prison. After helping, I felt such joy that was the starting point of me starting the non-profit and becoming the woman I am today.”
Her non-profit organization is called the Restoring Hope Charities Incorporated, which drew inspiration from her long-term commitment to giving back. “Even if I am not able to go back to Haiti, I want to give the next generation the tools and education to be able to do their own advocacy work.”
