Mission 4 Vision providing eye care services to the underserved throughout the world.
About MISSION -4- VISION
William Abrams, LDO. is a Tennessee Licensed Dispensing Optician, A Florida Board Certified Licensed Dispensing Optician, A Florida Board Certified Independent Contact Lens Fitter,
And a Low Vision Video Device Specialist, Inventor, Designer, & Manufacturer. He is Licensed to practice Opticianry in the state of Tennessee and Florida.
He has been practicing in the field of Opticianry for more than 27 years.
Mr. Abrams is very well known for his dedication of his time, Skills, and Money to providing Free eye care services and corrective glasses to children and adults in developing countries for many years.
He is more known for his willingness to immerse himself in the culture of the people he provides these services for. On his day off from an established mission clinic in Robillard Haiti. William would set out on his own and Physically trek into the jungles of Haiti with his survival gear to spend time in a remote village to truly understand there way of life. He sees and feels there suffering, but could never truly understand. He feels absolutely humbled at their tremendous FAITH they have in GOD. He believes he takes more with him than he could ever bring to them or do for them. William gets to see a side of Humanity that others may not be willing to see or experience. He meets the Children that are too embarrassed or don't feel welcome to go to the clinic because they don't have any cloths to wear (even though they are always welcome). He sees the distended stomachs of children suffering from hunger and parasites. The locals find him to be a really humorous but at the same time very driven to understand and treat their vision problems. Some of the locals call him Loc a Blanc (crazy White Boy) for hiking into the Jungle as he does. But when there, they feel a connection with him. He hears criticism of the Haitian People due to ignorance of their situations. Under NO circumstances are these people LAZY or Not self reliant what so ever. They are the hardest working people you could imagine. Walking through the countryside He sees people cultivating the land by hand using nothing more than a large knife or machete to loosen the soil and plant his crops. When their crops fail or their homes are destroyed by hurricanes or devastating Earth Quakes, Life quickly takes a twist and suddenly becomes
A STRUGGLE FOR THEIR VERY SURVIVAL.
In January of 2010 upon returning from the first vacation he has taken with his Family in more than 10 years. Mr. Abrams heard the news of the devastating 7.0 magnitude Earth Quake that struck Port-au Prince Haiti. He went immediately into action. He wasn't discouraged when his flight and all other flights were canceled due to damage to the airport system in Haiti. He rerouted his flight to the city of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic where he stayed with friends for the night. The next morning he took an old Over crowded Bus with broken air-conditioning, 100 + degree heat, and a Non opening windows and a broken Toilette for 9 1/2 hours through the Dominican countryside to the Haitian Border (Yuck). After dealing with corrupt border officials and stopping luggage handlers from stealing his luggage, he proceeded to Port au Prince.
He purchased and brought 30 Tarps, 18 Tents, Food, Supplies & forks to Matthew 25 House. A Hospitality House for Missionaries. It is ran by a Catholic Nun Named Sister Mary Finnick. It is located in Delmar district. The building was severely damaged by the earth quake. Sister Mary said that the soccer field that is directly adjacent to Matthew 25 house had filled with more than 800 people. Most were critically injured and now living and sleeping on the ground. Many had no shelter at all from the elements. They all did what we could and did very well. Dr's and medically trained people from all over came and performed amputations, wound care, life saving services, an caring for the many newly orphaned children as well as people whom lost family members. William assisted in coordinating the Lions Club International to provide temporary housing, Eye clinic, and aid station within this soccer field before departing back to the US.
Mr. Abrams has looked back on his experiences and successes and failures and seen a lot of things. Looking at it from the outside, he saw a steady stream of aid and assistance flowing to Haiti.
For this reason, William began to seek to Serve The Underserved. He was inspired to seek out another mission. During his extensive research, he saw the devastating and cruel number of Over 25,000,000 (25 Million) Children who have been orphaned due to losing both parents and Family to the terrible HIV/AIDS Epidemic in Africa.
Mr. Abrams began seeking out orphanages to provide services to. During his research, William was absolutely Offended to his soul when he
Discovered that the
EXPLOITATION of these CHILDREN
as a Business was so Common.
One example of this was:
He use the internet to seek out orphanages that might need his services. He then saw many advertisements that stated:
"Come volunteer at our orphanage for as low as $600.00",
"Our orphanage is the most reasonable",
"Reserve a volunteer Vacation for as low as $1400.00"
He contacted one of the orphanages and explained that he would go to their location and provide services and eye glasses "FREE OF CHARGE" to the children at their facility in one afternoon of their choosing.
He explained that he had his own: Transportation, Food, and Water.
The administrator responded with an email that stated
WE DO NOT HAVE THE RESOURCES TO ACCOMMODATE YOU.
LOOK ON GOOGLE AND
FIND ANOTHER ORPHANAGE
Being absolutely outraged at this blatant exploitation of these children as to denying them FREE basic services if you don't pay them a fee...
Mr. Abrams decided NOT to act in any way (right or wrong) because any action to expose the exploitation may somehow result in negatively impacting the care that the Children are receiving.
Mr. Abrams was so moved by this, that he reevaluated his primary focus and committed himself to serving the underserved Children in the world.
He took time and Investing countless hours of contacting people, Researching the locations with the greatest needs, using much of his personal Logistical knowkege, Resources, and thousands of dollars of his own money.
Mr. Abrams Created a new organization. A new and unique
Mobile Medical Eye Care Mission
that Targets Remote Orphanages and Tribal Villages
that Don't Have Access to These Services.
He contacted many orphanages to ask if Free Services where needed at their locations. The response was HUGE and very positive.
He then rented a large Land Rover and hired a Guide to access these remote locations.
As time went by, Word soon spread about the MISSION-4-VISION Mobile mission trip and I was contacted by representatives of several remote orphanages, Tribal villages, and communities asking to be included in his rout. The number of Children to be serviced has grown to several thousand and has almost become unmanageable. The operating costs for June 2012 are out of his usual mission trip budget.
The cost based on his 2011 visit to Kenya and a 3 week stay are as follows:
1. Air Fare per person (allowing for common costs --- $ 2,400.00
2. Estimated Shipping cost for the glasses -------------- $ 800.00
3. Visas (per Person) -------------------------------------- $ 150.00
4. Rental for Each Vehicle (very Hefty Land Rover)----- $ 3,500.00
5. Guide/Driver cost $25.00 per Day X 20 days ---------- $ 500.00
6. Camping equipment X 2 --------------------------------- $ 1,000.00
7. Lodging costs Approximately $30.00 per day -------- $ 600.00
8. Fuel costs Approximately -------------------------------- $ 1,000.00
9. Food about $35.00 per day ----------------------------- $ 700.00
10. Drinking Water (very high) about ---------------------- $ 100.00
11. Needed Optical Exam Equipment ----------------------- $ 200.00
12. Film Equipment (camera mounts, tripods, etc)------- $ 300.00
13. Batteries and chargers ------------------------------------ $ 200.00
14. Tips, Fees, Salaries, and other fees ------------------- $ 600.00
Taking into consideration that I will be seeing Approximately
1,900 children.
This puts the Total cost for the operating expenses from
$10,000.00 to $12,050.00 respectably
1102 Burlington Ct.
Murfreesboro, TN 37128
Office phone: 1-(615)-731-8746
Home phone: 1-(615)-562-2149
[email protected]
Provide eye care services and glasses to those in need. To serve the Underserved.
