Celebrating New Vision Leaders in Liberia

One in three Liberians needs vision correction. Most will never get it.

Not because solutions don’t exist but because access doesn’t. Glasses can cost up to $200 in a country where most people live on a few dollars a day. The limited vision care that exists is concentrated in cities, leaving rural communities with nothing. And by the time someone finally makes it to a clinic, a cataract that could have been caught early has often already progressed to blindness.

GoodVision Liberia has been operating since 2019, and in 2025 the program hit its stride. Over the course of the year, our team conducted 446 community outreaches across six counties, screened 17,160 people, and distributed 8,157 pairs of glasses. This was a 108% impact increase over 2024. The Ministry of Health, which oversees all eye care in the country, called our work “an important contribution to Liberia’s healthcare system, especially in hard-to-reach areas.”

The people behind it

Our Good Vision Technician (GVT) program trains local community members to conduct eye screenings, fit glasses, and identify conditions that need further clinical attention. In January 2026, we celebrated the graduation of 13 new GVTs brining our team in Liberia to 36.

Younkonjay Papa has been a GVT since the beginning. He’s seen firsthand what happens when care reaches people where they live: “Many people develop eye problems but don’t know where to go or who to seek help from. Our mobile clinics bring services to those who otherwise would have no access.”

His colleague Cynthia Weegie joined just over a year ago and has already witnessed how much of the problem comes down to simple awareness. “Many Liberians suffer in silence because they don’t know where to turn. By going into communities, we are reaching those who might otherwise wait too long.”

Liberians building careers, serving their neighbors, creating something permanent. No one flying in and flying out.

Affordable glasses that people actually value

In Liberia, prescription glasses typically cost between $60 and $250. GoodVision subsidizes up to 98% of that cost, making glasses available for as little as $3 to $5. Country Director Jackson Smith explains the thinking: “The minimal cost ensures that people value the service and that the program can continue to reach more communities.”

Even a small co-pay creates ownership. People take care of what they’ve invested in, and they come back.

Cataract care, too

Between April and December 2025, GoodVision Liberia’s technicians identified 840 suspected cataract cases during community outreaches. Of those, 73 were medically confirmed at the hospital. Fifty-nine patients went on to receive successful surgery. Without our community outreach, almost none of those surgeries would have happened.

What your support makes possible

GoodVision USA exists to fuel this work. Every dollar invested here supports a model that creates local jobs, builds permanent infrastructure, and delivers $28 in economic benefits for every $1 spent. We’re not sending glasses overseas. We’re building systems that communities own.

Liberia is proof. Help us scale it.