About | South Pacific Eye Care Foundation

About Us

The South Pacific Eye Care Foundation was born from a deep love of eye care and a shared belief that access to basic vision services should be available to everyone.

Founded by April Petrusma and Chedy Kalach (both Optical Dispensers)—the Foundation grew out of the ODA Outreach Project, launched in 2024 as an initiative of Optical Dispensers Australia. After facilitating multiple volunteer outreach trips from Australia to Fiji, it became clear that limited access to eye care across disadvantaged communities in the South Pacific was a persistent and systemic issue, not a temporary one.

In response, the South Pacific Eye Care Foundation was established to create a sustainable, long-term approach to delivering eye care where it is needed most.

We are Not-for-profit. 100% of our income goes directly towards our mission.

Our Mission

The South Pacific Eyecare Foundation is a not-for-profit organistion dedicated to advancing eye health and reducing preventable vision impairment within the disadvantaged communities of Australia and across developing regions of the South Pacific. Through volunteer outreach projects and mobile eye clinics, we provide vision screenings, dispense free prescription spectacles, manage minor acute eye conditions, and facilitate referrals for further care. We work collaboratively with volunteers, community partners, sponsors, and industry bodies to raise awareness, strengthen access to eye care, and support sustainable initiatives that improve long-term vision and health outcomes.

Since our first project began in 2024, we have already provided vision screening to over 2,300 people and dispensed a little over 1,100 pairs of prescription glasses to those that would otherwise go without.