Two local Lions Club members, Vivian J. Blankenship and Manny Guerrero have traveled to Guatamala and Mexico many times over the years. Vivian started in 1987 and Manny in 2000. Manny is the main interpreter besides Vivian. They eyeglass mission began because eyeglasses at that time could not be given out in the United States, so they began taking them to other counties. The first trip was to Guatemala and in addition to giving out the glasses they drove ambulances and fire trucks to five to firemen. They could afford to build the fire houses, but couldn’t afford the vehicles.
In 1992 after going to Guatemala for five years, they started going to Mexico. A Warsaw Lion was the coordinator and he had a lion member in Mexico who between the two decided which town or village they visited. It was always a poor village where the citizens could not afford glasses which were given out free of charge.
Used eyeglasses here are washed, repaired it needed and the prescription read on a machine called a Lensometer. They are put in plastic bags with the prescription on a label. They the glasses are sorted by men’s, women’s, and children and boxes accordingly. The boxes glasses are then trucked to the U.S. and Mexican border where the Mexican Lions pick them up. Between 10 and 20 thousand glasses are shipped. Vivian is one of the leaders of the group that the Plymouth Lions Club sponsors. Normally between 15 to 20 Lions and friends make the trip with is all volunteer. They pay for all their own expenses, but the Mexican Lions Club pays for their food and hotel while they are there.
People line up for hours to get a pair of glasses. The workers register the people and they go to the Autorefractor which reads the eye script. They them match the eye script to the proper glasses and fit the patients. Both Vivian and Manny have said what a joy it is to see the looks and smiles on their faces when they can see clearly.
Those who have attended over the years from the Plymouth Lions Club are Vivian Blankenship, Manny Guerrero, Ken and Penny Lukenbill, Mudge and the late Harold Van Vactor, Bill and Jane Wallace, and Ruth Kinney. They will not be this year, but both agree hopefully next year….their response “What an experience!”
One interesting note of how the Lions Club became involved with eyeglasses and the blind must be a part of this story. The Lions Club came into existence in 1917 and in 1925 Helen Keller spoke at the Lions Club International Convention in Cedar Point, OH and challenged the club to be “Knights for the Blind.” From that point forward the Lions Club has been involved in all kinds of help for the blind and the mission of providing eyeglasses to children and adults in the United States and around the world.
