Blog 1: Why GSIF?

Hello All!

My name is Susan Cheng. I am a junior mechanical engineering major who aspires to redesign the way people live and the products they use to be more sustainable and environmentally-friendly. I really look forward to making “IMPACT, IMPACT, IMPACT” with the PlasTech Venture team this year! 

So…what led me to GSIF and the PlasTech Venture team?

Upon entering college, I knew I wanted to involve the concepts of sustainability and environmental-friendliness in my career. I yearn to be an undercover stage crew that sets up the world population to coexist with nature and operate in a more self-sustaining manner. I started to work towards my goal at Lehigh through studying mechanical engineering. The more I learned about the mechanical engineering field, the more hope and despair I gained. Through mechanical engineering, I became aware of the massive potential of achieving my goal. At the same time, I learned that most mechanical engineering jobs in the market deviated from my goals. Upon learning about the various programs being offered by GSIF, I was enchanted by the PlasTech project because it aligned with my career goal and welcomed my mechanical engineering spirit. 

Being a part of the GSIF PlasTec team is a step towards my career aspiration in redesigning the way people live to be more sustainable and environmentally friendly. As a part of the GSIF program, I look forward to learning and developing various skills from the Inquiry to Impact Workshop Series to make sustainable changes in not just the Philippines via the PlasTech project but to other parts of the world as well. Through the workshop, I look forward to learning about current challenges that the world is facing as a means of inspiration to focus in my mechanical engineering classes in order to make the difference that I am seeking in the world. 

Issues such as the following are waiting to be solved:

“The World Health Organization estimates that over one billion people who need eyeglasses do not have access to them. The vast majority of these people live in developing countries like Kenya where there is barely one optometrist per one million people. Given the high poverty levels, access to eyeglasses is almost nonexistent. Lack of proper eyeglasses severely impacts people and their livelihoods by decreasing their productivity at work, limiting or eliminating new opportunities, affecting their quality of life, deteriorating their general health and possibly leading to (preventable) blindness. What solution do you propose to address this problem?”

To solve the issue above, I would first establish an eyeglasses donation system in developed countries. Whenever an ophthalmologist provides a new prescription for the patient, the old lens and frame will be donated to the developing nation. According to the Vision Council of America, 64% of the population (209.4 million people in 2018) wear eyeglasses. Eyeglasses prescription usually lasts one to two years, this indicates that the US alone discards or no longer uses 109.2 million pairs of eyeglasses every year. This massive number of discarded eyeglasses brings hope to developing countries such as Kenya, where the population is 49.7 million as of 2017. 

Donated glasses can then be shipped to the developing countries in need of eyeglasses. A new market of fixing and adjusting the donated eyeglasses (opticians) can be introduced to the developing countries, which could potentially enhance economic growth. 

Furthermore, financial support from international organizations such as the TwoBillionEyes Foundation and the developing country’s government can lead to bringing basic eye examination care to the people. The examination would determine the right prescription for each individual. The only cost remaining from the described operation would be the optician’s fee for adjusting the donated eyeglasses. 

There are many other innovative ways of addressing the lack of proper eyeglasses in developing countries. The approach that I have mentioned is definitely not the perfect solution and consists of various issues that need to be explored. A few of these issues are listed below: 

• How will the donation system in developed countries be set up?
• Who will distribute and cover the cost of transporting the discarded eyeglasses?
• Where and how will individuals in the developing countries be trained to be opticians? 
• What options exist for individuals who are in need of further eye care after the expiration of the prescription?

Through the Inquiry to Impact Workshop Series, I hope to gain more insights and skills in tackling any challenges that are thrown at me. My goal of developing and redesigning the way people live and the things they use to be more sustainable and environmentally-friendly is definitely a thorny path with hurdles. 

See you next time 🙂