BENNETT GIVES EYE CARE IN ARMENIA

Belmont Citizen-Herald, MA
Nov 22 2006

Thirteen years ago, Rev. Joanne Hartunian consulted with Dr. Linda
Bennett concerning a young girl in the Cambridge Yerevan Sister City
Association youth exchange program from Yerevan, Armenia who needed
eye glasses. Bennett said she’d do what she could.

Since then, she has examined exchange educators and students with
various stages of vision problems. As she treated the Belmont High
School exchange visitors in her Belmont office, Bennett would say,
"Don’t forget to get come and get your eyes checked again." The
participants would try to explain that they were on a U.S. Department
of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs funded youth
exchange program and that it would be impossible to come to America
again. Bennett always told the students and teachers, "You never know
when I’ll see you again!"

Belmont High School is partnered with School 65 in the Shengavit
region of Yerevan. Year after year, as educators and students arrived
at Belmont High School, Bennett and her staff cleared their office to
accommodate the groups that Cambridge Yerevan Sister City brought to
the Boston area. Bennett’s office visit became a living legend where,
in addition to providing everyone with eye exams, and glasses or
surgery where necessary, she showed the students a children’s video,
treated them to lunch, and let them play games for an afternoon.

Year after year, Bennett would call Rev. Hartunian and inquire, "When
are the Armenian students and teachers coming to Belmont High School?"

Armenian students and educators are unable to come to the United
States with the Secondary School Partnership Program to Promote
Civil Society any longer, due to State Department budget cuts. So
she decided if the children couldn’t come to her, she would go to them.

In 2004, Bennett spoke at an annual Optometric Convention and told
them about the children in Armenia. Her efforts mobilized an 18-person
medical team with Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity, where
they conducted six all-day school clinics in Armenia.

Bennett is again organizing efforts to do another clinic in Armenia
in October 2007. Kimberly Balfour, nurse at Belmont Day School,
who was also on the 2004 team, has volunteered to again head the
blood pressure and diabetes screening clinic which will prioritize
patients according to need, as often these conditions are indicative
of eye care issues. Optometric student Rita Cherian, a Belmont High
School graduate, will do a clinic rotation and training in Armenia
under the supervision of Bennett. Dr. Leora Berns and Dr.

Viktoria Davis of Connecticut; and volunteers Elizabeth Gallaher of
Belmont and Roswita Fragomeni of New York have joined the team.

Rev. Hartunian is project manager for this vision clinic, assisted
by logistics coordinator Peggy Hovanessian of Lexington, and site
coordinator Anna Karakhanyan in Armenia. AMARAS Arts Alliance of
Watertown, and its President Arax Badalian, is the United States
sponsoring organization. On route to clinics and throughout their
visit in Armenia, the team will be shown historic and cultural sights
throughout the country. While in Armenia they will be hosted in a
government guest house and they will have dinner in the homes of the
many people Bennett has treated. Each optometrist or nurse will be
assisted by an American volunteer and a Yerevan translator.

In order to serve the greatest number of people, there are a limited
number of spaces available for additional ODs and volunteers on a
first inquiry basis.

For more information please contact Dr. Linda Bennett, 617-484-1414;
or Rev. Joanne Hartunian, armeniatrip@yahoo.com.