Campaign to End Cataract Blindness Student Ambassador Program

HelpMeSee, Inc. is a nonstock, not for profit, 501 (c)(3) tax-exempt US corporation. Spring 2015

Untreated cataracts are the leading cause of global preventable blindness

Source: World Health Organization

In developing countries, blindness and visual impairment reduce life expectancy and economic productivity and place burdens on families, caretakers, and

communities.

Our Core Mission: Eliminate Cataract Blindness in 20 Years

CATARACT EYESIGHT HEALTHY VISION

We do this with sustainable, high-quality and affordable cataract surgery services.

We care about cataract blindness because we can do something about it.

Our Biggest Hurdle: A Severe Shortage of Surgeons

90% of visually impaired people live in low-income countries, where there are very few ophthalmologists and little to no access to proper care.

Rural populations face a particular disadvantage. HelpMeSee’s goal is to train 30,000 cataract specialists (mostly women) to solve this global crisis.

Check out the startling number of ophthalmologists per million people:

The Problem

.

MSICS: Manual Small Incision Cataract Surgery

An affordable, high quality, life-transforming surgery!

*The higher cost for pediatric surgeries is due to theneed for general anesthesia and additional follow up care

Aarti’s Story

During a childhood accident, Aarti's right eye was permanently damaged when she fell on a pile of sticks one piercing her skull. When surgery was performed to repair the injury, an optic nerve was damaged causing Aarti to be permanently blinded in her right eye. 

With the vision in the left eye remaining Aarti was able to go to school, but in the 5th grade, the vision in that eye started to blur.

After years of visiting hospitals, no one could identify the problem that was causing this new vision loss. Aarti eventually lost her sight completely and had to drop out of school. This video (left) takes you through her recovery.

Highly realistic3D visuals

Complete surgical procedure with 249

pre-existing conditions and complications

High fidelityhaptic feedback

Comprehensive standardized

courseware and learning

management system

HelpMeSee’s Virtual Reality MSICS Simulator

In 1951, Al Ueltschi founded

FlightSafety International, a company that

now trains over 75,000 pilots

annually using simulation technology.

Al and his son Jim Ueltschi applied the concept of simulation training in solving the

global crisis of cataract

blindness.

HelpMeSee was founded in 2010 with the mission

of training 30,000 MSICS

specialists using a simulator

adapted from FlightSafety technology.

HelpMeSee Cataract Free Community Model

11. Guatemala12. Guinea-Bissau13. Guinea-Conakry14. Haiti15. Indonesia16. Ivory Coast17. Liberia18. Mali19. Mexico20. Myanmar

Current Countries:ChinaIndiaNepalSierra LeoneTogoViet NamPeruMadagascar

Campaign 20151. Angola2. Bangladesh3. Benin4. Burkina Faso5. Cambodia6. Congo-Brazzaville7. Congo-Kinshasa8. Ecuador9. The Gambia10. Ghana

Campaign 2018-202044. Brazil45. Costa Rica46. Cuba47. Egypt48. Nicaragua49. Venezuela

Campaign 201627. Argentina28. Bhutan29. Cameroon30. Cape Verde31. Chile32. Dominican Republic33. Gabon34. Laos35. Paraguay

Campaign 201736. Bolivia37. Colombia38. Ethiopia39. Guyana40. Honduras41. Kenya42. Panama43. Uganda

21. Niger22. Nigeria23. Philippines24. Senegal25. Singapore26. Uruguay

HelpMeSee Campaign Countries 2015 - 2020

Student Ambassador ProgramAmbassadors will

help promote community

awareness of HelpMeSee, engage fellow students, and raise funds for our

programs

HelpMeSee will mobilize and

educate students to create advocates for

the mission of eliminating cataract blindness worldwide

The program will cultivate a network

of young leaders who will be prepared to shape the future of

social enterprise work

Part I: TrainingHelpMeSee will administer three roughly 90-minute webinars to new Ambassadors, focusing on:1. HelpMeSee

2. Leadership: skills useful in creating a campaign and engaging peers

3. Nonprofit Development: how to fundraise

Ambassadors will raise: $500 at the high school level $1,000 at the university level

Forming a HelpMeSee club provides immediate peer support, but there are other ways to go about raising funds and awareness

The program spans one year but continuing efforts beyond that is greatly encouraged

Each Ambassador will have a customizable My HelpMeSee campaign on HelpMeSee.org allowing sharing online via email or social media in addition to collecting donations in the traditional fashion.

After completing training, ambassadors will raise money and awareness for HelpMeSee in their communities.

Part II: Service

• The Ambassador Guidebook: contains instructions on launching a club or campaign, fundraising and promotional ideas

Also includes a Professional Development toolkit

• HelpMeSee digital assets: photos, videos, patient stories

• Social media content: Facebook covers, Twitter banners

• HelpMeSee marketing materials: brochures, overview presentation

A wide array of resources are available at HelpMeSee.org for Ambassador use.

The HelpMeSee team is available to Ambassadors for questions and concerns, and will be checking in periodically and conducting a quarterly webinar.

Support

• Students will gain experience in service, leadership, and marketing, among other thingsBuild Skills

• Awards for completion of the program, outstanding fundraising, exceptional campaigningBe Recognized

• Possible trips to HelpMeSee field sites and the HelpMeSee New York officeTravel

• Connect with a group of like-minded, motivated, and passionate young peopleNetwork

Why Join the Program?

Thank YouStudent Ambassador Program

ambassador@helpmesee.org