“One-Dollar-Glasses” dedicates its work to supplying the inhabitats of remote regions with affordable and durable glasses since 2012. To this end, the association has developed a frame made from spring steel, which can be produced on-site using a bending machine that does not require any electricity.

 

After a vision test is performed, the spectacles are assembled using prefabricated lenses and sold for a few dollars. The aim is to ensure that people are no longer excluded from education or work solely on account of poor vision.

 

A welcome additional benefit is the creation of the job of a self-employed, mobile one-dollar-glasses optician, who earns his livelihood from making spectacles and selling them to the rural population. In 2014, the Foundation funded the necessary training for six young people in Salima, Malawi, one of the poorest countries in Africa.

 

Following the success of this pilot project, the Else Kröner Fresenius Foundation joined in 2016, extending the project to cover all of Malawi.