College students travel to India to help tackle lack of eye care

Nursing students at the Cambrian College in Ontario, Canada, have been given a first hand experience at providing health care to those who need it most. The students spent time working with Aravind Eye Hospital in India, which aims to provide access to eyeglasses and eye care programs in developing countries across the globe.

"The students gained a deeper appreciation of global health care disparities, but also acquired a better understanding of the issues that are common to both the developing world and to the western world," said Natalie Chevalier-Squires, a professor of nursing at Cambrian College and who accompanied the students on their trip.

In addition to their charitable efforts in India, the same group of students raised funds for a similar relief effort to Haiti in the wake of its devastating earthquake.

According to the World Health Organization, visual impairment affects nearly 314 million people worldwide, with 45 million of them being completely blind. Perhaps most distressing is that 87 percent of the visually impaired live in developing countries, with about 85 percent of eye health issues being preventable.