1 dollar glasses
Wire for a better view: BGH creates new perspectives
Since 1 July 2021, glasses have been made from BGH spring steel wire in Burkina Faso. The EinDollarBrille e.V. association distributes them to children and adults in developing countries. With BGH providing the spring steel wire free of charge, EinDollarBrille is helping even more people to see well.
Beaming with joy, Salomy from Malawi (photo) puts on her new glasses: "I can suddenly see everything very clearly!" she says. A doctor had told her a long time ago that she should buy a pair of glasses. However, her parents could not afford the equivalent of 30 euros for a pair of glasses. That's why Salomy always copied her neighbour at school. "I'm so happy that I can now read what's on the blackboard myself. I want to go to university one day and I need to have good grades."
According to a WHO study (2019), around 950 million people around the world suffer from correctable defective vision, but cannot afford conventional glasses and usually have no access to optical care.
The consequences are serious:
- Children cannot learn.
- Adults are unable to work in skilled jobs and cannot provide adequately for their families.
EinDollarBrille e.V. has developed a sustainable model to solve this problem, based on the principle of "helping people to help themselves". The aim of the organisation is to provide basic optical care for all people worldwide, wherever they are. This includes providing people in need with high-quality, locally produced yet affordable, robust and customised glasses. The first delivery of Feindraht to Burkina Faso took place in summer 2021. The fine wire was bent into spectacles by local specialists.
From wire to glasses
The OneDollarGlasses consist of an extremely light and stable 1.4310 grade spring steel frame, which is bent from a 1 mm diameter wire using a simple bending machine. As this does not require electricity, the process can also be used in rural regions of developing countries. The prefabricated plastic lenses are clicked into the frame with a simple hand movement.
BGH and EinDollarBrille - a partnership bears fruit
The spectacle manufacturers trained by the organisation itself are impressed by the quality of the donated spring steel. Experience in recent years has shown how difficult it is to find the right wire for the spectacles - the necessary compromise between flexibility and breaking strength is the crucial element. In the 10 countries in which the organisation is now active, the OneDollarGlasses teams travel from village to village in minibuses, packed with the necessary equipment to carry out eye tests and - if necessary - fit glasses.
The organisation has already provided around 300,000 people with glasses. In addition to educating the population, this includes training spectacle manufacturers and opticians, creating infrastructure and offering free eye tests. Over 200 employees are already working for OneDollarGlasses in the project countries and are able to build a new livelihood with their income.