We had some children and elderly that had been complaining about their eyes, so I brought them to the eye doctor. We waited 1 ½ hours to be seen by the doctor. In Haiti, you don't make an appointment. You show up, wait, and when it is your turn you are seen. Some people may wait literally all day to find out that the doctor's work is done for the day and they cannot be seen.
I was amazed at how their eyes were checked. There was a special eye chart called an "E chart" that hung on the wall. It had many E's turned to the left, to the right, and upside down. The illiteracy rate in Haiti is so high. Many people are not able to write their name or read. I have seen many people write an "X" in place of a signature. So, they are not able to use the kind of eye chart we use in America. They would tell the eye doctor which direction the E was facing by pointing with their fingers up, down, left, or right. Wow! The E's got smaller as they progressed their way down the chart until they could not read them accurately.
If they had difficulty reading the chart, the eye doctor would use a special computerized machine that would give him more information. In the photo below, one of our children is using the special machine and you can see the image of his eye.
One of our elderly needed bifocals. When the doctor put them on his face he shouted, "Mwen ka we!" (which means, "I can see!"). He was so thankful to be able to see. It was precious! I am so thankful that there are organizations that can help our children and elders. What a blessing it is when people give of their time and expertise to help those in need.
This chart is pretty common, actually. It's used for very young children who haven't learned to read yet. It would be very useful in an area with high illiteracy.
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