U.S. ophthalmology group honors Rotary
Action Group with special award
Note: Each year Rotary International
has a presence at the annual American Academy of Ophthalmology Convention.
RI is represented in a booth staffed by members of the Rotarian Action Group for
Blindness Prevention. At the 2005 AAO Convention held in Chicago, RI
received a special award. This is the article that was carried on the RI
web site and in The Rotarian magazine.
25 October 2005
Rotary International's support of
avoidable blindness initiatives worldwide has received recognition from the
American Academy of Ophthalmology.
Frank J. Devlyn, chair of The Rotary Foundation Trustees (2005-2006) received the AAO's
2005 Special Recognition Award on behalf of Rotary on 16 October at the
organization's annual meeting in Chicago.
"It is gratifying to know that Rotary's
many projects involving eye care and avoidable blindness are recognized by this
prestigious group of eye care physicians," says Devlyn. "The threat of blindness
is something every one of us can relate to, because we all know what a precious
gift the sense of sight is."
The academy cites Rotary's increased
involvement in collaborative sight-restoring projects, which provide free eye
care to residents of underprivileged communities, as the main reason for the
award.
These include an initiative, cosponsored
with the academy's foundation, to bring highly talented ophthalmologists from
developing countries to the United States on a two-week educational, cultural,
and social immersion program. More than 40 eye doctors from 27 countries have so
far benefited from the effort.
At least 300 Rotarians were among the more
than 25,000 attendees at the meeting, according to Devlyn. Rotarian eye care
professionals came from more than 10 different countries.
"We found this out because the Rotarian
Fellowship of Eye Care set up a stand that Rotarians and prospective Rotarians
visited," he explains. "The stand is a new concept. It is good public relations
being there and talking to people who come by to see our display of avoidable
blindness projects."
Kenneth Tuck, the fellowship's chair and a
past AAO president, says that Rotary and the academy have played complementary
roles in providing procedures that improve or restore sight. Several senior
leaders of the academy, including some past presidents, are Rotarians, he says.
"We [eye care professionals] are deeply
grateful to all groups that are committed to carrying out avoidable blindness
projects," says Tuck. "Within the fellowship, we are eager for more Rotarians to
join us or at least to take a look. We need to create more awareness about the
challenges of preventing blindness."
According to Tuck, the experience that the
eye care fellowship has gained in setting up booths at the academy's annual
meetings could be applied more widely within Rotary.
"It offers a great opportunity for fellowships to promote their activities at
relevant large meetings of professionals," he says.
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