It’s always a pleasure to support the work of Crawley’s charities, and this week I had the opportunity to do this in the House of Commons.
I was pleased to receive backing from the International Development Secretary, Penny Mordaunt, for the work of Crawley-based Vision Aid Overseas, which help provide sight support for people in the developing world.
The charity have a warehouse in Manor Royal, where donations of glasses are sorted by hand. They are either recycled for metal content such as gold frames, sold on if buyers are interested in retro or vintage products, or taken to a recycling facility where metal is extracted.
Funds raised go towards eye care programmes in the charity’s partner countries, making a real difference to those less fortunate than ourselves.
It was a pleasure to host this organisation in Parliament earlier in the year, where MPs, Commonwealth High Commissioners and charities came together to call for better access to affordable eye care in developing countries. Measures which would help include eye exams and appropriate treatment such as glasses, particularly for poorer communities and children.
Our town can be proud that a charity based here, which recycles around 3.5 million pairs of second-hand glasses annually, is having such an impact around the world.
Henry Smith MP
Crawley Constituency
House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA
01293 934554/020 7219 7043
henry.smith.mp@parliament.uk
www.henrysmith.info