Dr. Shawn Charland Optometrist
eye chart, so they used a “Tumbling E” chart where the letter E pointed in different directions. “We would ask them to show us with a finger which way each of the E’s was pointing,” said Charland. It was simple yet effective.
Dr. Charland and his Spanish transliterations
W
hen Shawn Charland was still a student at the University of Waterloo, he and some friends saw an I CARE International poster on a wall in the optometry building. “We contacted this group and, within two-and-a-half weeks, we were in this little town three hours north of Mexico City, drinking fermented cactus juice and bonding with the community. It was pretty impulsive.” No kidding! When they woke up, they heard roosters crowing and people ringing church bells, and they looked out onto cactus and rolling hills. “It was like something right out of a spaghetti western,” laughs Charland. And yet, although the optometry students had only one year of schooling, they could read a prescription, assist with eye examinations, and help fit people with glasses to improve their eyesight. In fact, they helped people of all ages. Those who couldn’t read or write had trouble with the
Since that first foray abroad, Charland, who splits his time between offices in Westboro and Alta Vista, has worked in Bolivia, Kenya, and even in the jungles of Nicaragua. “Because many patients couldn’t read, they broadcast our visit over the radio, and people started walking out of the jungle to see us,” he says. Weaving through the mountains in an airplane and landing on dirt landing strips in a jungle might indeed sound like a Photos: Courtesy of Dr. Shawn Charland
Admiring a son’s new eyeglasses (Nicaragua) Winter 2013/2014 HEALTHWISE OTTAWA 51