Visionary project

An organisation promoting Jewish responsibility has set its sights on improving vision in Africa.

Project Chesed, a joint initiative of the United Synagogue and the London School of Jewish Studies, has joined forces with the Eye Warehouse to collect thousands of pairs of spectacles which will be sent by Vision Aid Overseas to optical clinics in countries such as Ethiopia, Malawi and Zambia. The Project Chesed collection is dedicated to the memory of Giles Van Colle, an optician and US member, who was murdered in 2000.

Twenty opticians from across the community are also donating stock which will be forwarded to World Jewish Relief’s optical programme, providing free prescription glasses to Jewish communities in Eastern Europe.

Project Chesed director Candice Woolfson said: “Intrinsic to our Jewish responsibility is an obligation to relieve the suffering of those in need. Such a simple act as dropping off a pair of spectacles at your local shul can change someone’s life. With the correct spectacles, people can learn, work and achieve a quality of life which otherwise would be unattainable.”