December14TODOEDIT2_002houston 11/20/14 3:10 PM Page 46
A GREATER
VISION
Local optometrist, Dr. Moes Nasser, O.D., doesn’t take his blessings lightly. Having grown up very poor in the village of Bariadi in Tanzania, Dr. Nasser came to the US to attend college with just $20 in his pocket. American Missionaries piqued the idea about getting an education in America, so Nasser applied for a scholarship from an Agahkhan Foundation in Switzerland and applied to the University of Houston. (Because they didn’t have an application fee at the time.) As he became successful, he decided to help his village, where much of his family and many friends still live. He established a vision clinic to help the people in his village and surrounding areas who are in need of glasses, many of whom walk dozens of miles to be seen. Now he is on a new mission to raise money to buy a bus, which can be used as a mobile sight unit with an exam room and a lab, so prescription lenses can be cut and given to patients immediately. “We are not just giving vision to someone. We are also helping a person have function and livelihood. People who are on the brink of blindness are now living changed lives,” says Dr. Nasser. So far, he has raised nearly $8,000, and has a goal of $100,000. Just five dollars is all it takes to examine a person and give them glasses in Tanzania. To help Dr. Nasser’s cause, checks can be sent to Optometry Giving Sight | 17282 Tomball Parkway, Houston, TX 77064.
Photography by Max Burkhalter
46. december 14 | www.002mag.com