When Savanna Smith returned from her first Rotary international service project, she did so with a full heart and a feeling that she and others on the Misión Claridad team had made a difference for hundreds of underprivileged adults and children living in and around Cuenca, the third largest city in Ecuador.
“There were so many positive little experiences that it is hard to generalize our trip,” said Savanna, who has been a Rotarian since April 2023. “It was so incredible to invest the time we did as a team to be there for the right reasons.”
An optician, Savanna was a member of the optometry component of the Misión Claridad team. The six-member group conducted about 550 eye exams over five days of clinics.
The team identified 366 patients who required glasses. For 115, their needs could be met with pre-made glasses the team had brought from Canada.
One woman was overwhelmed when she received her glasses. “She cried. We cried,” Savanna said. “She had clear vision for the first time in 40 years.”
A nine-year-old boy also received a pair of pre-made glasses. “He was so excited to see the scenery around him,” Savanna said.
In addition to Savanna, the optometry team included three other Rotarians: optometrist Ben Doz, optician Norm Johnson and Marg McCuaig-Boyd who assisted with preliminary screenings. Ben’s wife, Marley, and Norm’s wife, Dianne, rounded out the team.
Marg, Dianne and Norm have all been members of two previous missions to Ecuador. Ben has led more than 20 Rotary-supported optometry missions to Guatemala as a member of the Rotary Club of Edmonton West.
The team returned to Canada with 251 prescriptions for glasses. They will be filled by staff at the Optometrist Clinic in Edmonton, where Ben, Norm and Savanna all work.
Paul Dusseault, who led the team that visited Ecuador in October, will return to Cuenca in February to deliver the glasses to patients.
Misión Claridad—Spanish for “clarity”—was initially envisioned as a cataract surgery project when established by Paul and his wife, Cynthia. It came about as the result of a conversation between Paul and local resident Betty Dominguez, who was helping with an unrelated service project in 2020.
“What is a problem that doesn’t get addressed?” Paul asked.
“Cataracts,” said Betty. Left untreated, cataracts can lead to blindness.
“This was a local need brought to us by a local person,” Paul said.
The optometry component was suggested by Norm Johnson, a member of the Rotary Club of Edmonton Riverview since 2001, and twice its president.
The 14-member Misión Claridad team at the Edmonton International Airport on October 17, 2024 before beginning their 26.5 hour trip to Cuenca, Ecuador via Montreal; Bogota, Columbia and Quito, Ecuador. Team members paid for their own travel, accommodation and meals.
Rotarian Savanna Smith with one of her young patients.
Rotarian Ben Doz examines a patient in Cuenca.
For 2023-2024, Misión Claridad was selected as Rotary District 5370’s international project of the year. District 5370 consists of 2,021 Rotary clubs in northern Alberta, northwest Saskatchewan, northeast British Columbia and the Northwest Territories and Yukon..
The award was presented by 2023-2024 District Governor Brent Collingwood at the District’s fall assembly at the beginning of October—just before the team left for South America.
The fall 2024 cataract team consisted of a surgeon, an ophthalmology resident and four nurses. The cataract team performed 38 surgeries, using facilities in a public hospital in Cuenca.
Another two surgeries arranged and funded by the mission were performed by a local surgeon after the team’s departure from Ecuador.
Local ophthalmologists provided followup care for the Misión Claridad patients.
Savanna felt everyone on the team worked well together. “There was respect for everyone and the role they played. We were there as a team,” she said.
“It felt so good to make a difference for patients there,” she said. “You genuinely felt you were helping.”
She says she plans to return to Ecuador.
“If I could go back next week, I would,” she said. “I am definitely going back in a couple of years.”
She also hopes that someday she can share Ecuador with her three children.
“I would like to take my kids there on holidays. Cuenca felt so safe and welcoming.”