SPIRITUALLY SPEAKING Sunday, January 19, 1992 ~ North Shore News - 2% Church donates van to Operation Eyesight SOMETIMES CHARITY work can be a real eye Opener. In this case, liter- ally. By Barbara Black News Reporter St. Christopher’s Anglican Church in West Vancouver recent- ly raised $7,500 to help purchase a new van for Operation Eyesight Universal (OEU). OEU is a Canadian charity that restores eyesight to, and provides eye care for, people in 14 develop- ing countries. St. Christopher’s Church outreach cominittee raised the money by holding an auction. The money raised by parishioners will now be matched by The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) to purchase a ‘‘mobile eye unit’? for use by the Mwami Adventist Hospital in Chipata, Zambia. NEWS photo Mike Wakefletd DOREEN PEWSEY of St. Christopher’s Anglican Church in West Vencouver hands cver to Marilyn Gullison-Heel of Operation Eyesight Universal the symbolic ‘‘key’’ to a van. Funds raised by the parishioners will be used to purchase a van for an Operation Eyesight Universal project in Zambia. The $7,500 raised wii} be matched by the Canadian International Development Agency. JUBILEE PLYMOUTH CHRYSLER AUTO SHOW ‘S2 == AUTO SHOW PRICES IN EFFECT! '92 BRAND NEW Fully appointed inctuding: air-conditioning, AMIFM cassette, Sunroof, quick order pkg. 220, MSRP $13,450, Rebate $1,250, Jubilee Auto Show Discount $4,025 ‘Wamtenance bee tease, 36 months: BUICHAYSLER § 2 warheenvta 980-8501 10,975 or $305 * Prices stiown are net of factory concessions Add appbcable taxes. trent A FDI Archdeacon Rivers says of OEU, ‘One of the things I like about this particular organization is it is totally cross-denomina- tional. It’s nice if you can take off your denominational hat and work together.’’ The founders of OEU were prominent Baptists and West Vancouver residents the late Ben and Eviyn Gullison, Their daugh- ter, Marilyn Heel, also of West Vancouver, is now manager of the Vancouver office of OEU. Heel says the organization began in 1963 in India, where she lived with her parents. “When it started 29 years ago, it was to meet the needs of one little missionary hospital. The Ca- nadian people were so supportive that they were able to take it beyond that hospital,’ she ex- plains. The volunteer work is done mostiy in Canada, ‘‘spreading the news’? says Heel. ‘“‘The work overseas is done through nationals there. We find in almost all these areas there are good professionals available. What they need are the resources...instruments, techno- logy.” The van donated in part by St. Christopher’s Church, will be used to travel into outlying areas to provide preventive eye care and to find peopte in need of cataract operations, which are performed at the hospital. . “They’ve established that there are 5,000 children in the area and a large portion of them are in danger of developing nutritional blindness. They hope to get in there early enough and give them vitamin A,”’ says Heel. Heel notes there is very little in the way of eye care in many of these countries and even small problems can escalate into blind- ness. Operation Eyesight’s major work, however, is with cataract eperations. Heel believes that by restoring poeple’s eyesight OEU provides people with real hope and dignity. She relates her favorite story of visiting an eye camp in India in 1989 where patients came to have cataract operations. “All the patients were waiting on the floor. There was a little old lady, the most fragile thing you could imagine. And beside her there was a little girl, maybe six or seven. I spoke to the little girl and she said, ‘This is my grandmother and she can see!’ The thing was, she meant ‘She can see me!’ ”’ Heel exclaims. Bringing that kind of joy into people’s lives is the foundation for OEU projects. Archdeacon Rivers is pleased to assist OEU. “What attracted us to Opera- very tion Eyesight was the people who work for it are all volunteers. The second thing is it’s a very tangible thing Operation Eyesight is doing. They have a team of doctors operating on people to restore their sight,’” he said. Heel says that last year the total raised from private donations in Canada to OEU was over $3 mil- lion and many service clubs also donated time and money to assist in projects. information on Universal For more Operation Eyesight phone 687-3555, TUESDAY NIGHT bIE LL Bele TEMS To owe EVE, wWiTe OUe FABULOUS THEEE COPS & Dill@e Fee OLY $20 Fee PERSON te AND .+. The Gortedy Cortitl] BEVTISH MINOR THAT EL eee 22? Moen NC vE Wn! 926-F836 STEAMED ? COOLING SYSTEM SERVICE Cooling system failure can cause expensive engine repairs. Our service includes up to 8 L of coolant plus flushing fee. Have us check your vehicle before you get steamed up! 9 Inc. 4 Lites Antteeze 9 & 44°25 inc. 6 Litres of Antteesr : go25 fac. 8 Litres at Anutreeze Sale prices in effect Jan. 19 - 25, 1992 tanagian, \. TIRE * Based on nationa’ independent surveys of total visits mado to auto service centres for ten major services in Canada, by (SL international Surveys Ltd. (Jan. - Sept. 1990)