Shades Of Love (aid organization)

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Shades Of Love - The Himalayan and Andean Eyewear Project is an aid organization from Munich . It was founded in 2009 by Jürgen Altmann and deals with people suffering from blindness or other eye diseases in high mountain regions. The organization collects sunglasses , which are donated to sick and affected people. In addition, sunglasses are donated by many different sunglasses manufacturers. In an inclusive workshop in Koblenz, the UV protection of the glasses is checked and, if necessary, repairs are carried out.

Project

After several trips to the north Indian Himalayan region of Ladakh , Jürgen Altmann started a collection campaign in his Munich café in 2009 . With co-founder Niklas Huppmann, the organization then continued to grow and, among other things, opened up the Andes in South America. After around 300 sunglasses were collected in the first year and distributed in the Himalayas, the project continued to grow in the following years, so that, according to the organization, more than 350,000 people could be helped by October 2019. The project is supported by companies and opticians. There are now collection points all over Europe.

The distribution usually takes place by motorcycle, so that even remote villages can be reached. So far the organization works in Bolivia, Peru, Chile, India and Nepal.

There are now official collaborations with governments of individual affected countries.

In addition to collecting sunglasses, Shades Of Love also supports mobile hospitals in the Himalayas, which operate and heal sick and blind people every year.

background

According to Shades Of Love , 80 percent of the population in Ladakh is affected by eye infections due to the year-round intense solar radiation in the high altitude regions . Every 300 meters of altitude, the ultraviolet radiation increases by 4 percent. The inhabitants of the mountain ranges are sometimes at altitudes around 2500–6500 m, where UV radiation is much higher than at sea level. In the Himalayas, UV indices of over 9 are found year-round. The ozone hole intensifies this effect. Even in winter they are not spared from this, as the snow reflects the UV rays. Even clouds do not protect against UV radiation. People who are sick cannot help their families with field work. This means that workers are lost and the other family members have to work more to make up for the loss. The people affected are also referred to as "mouths without hands". People are affected, for example in Ladakh in India . Sunglasses with UV protection 400 can considerably limit the risk of illness.

In the polar regions, eye problems are not caused by altitude, but by snow blindness. This disease is called photokeratitis . This is caused by the double UV exposure from snow, but also water.

As a result of the unprotected eyes and the harmful conditions in high mountain and polar regions, many sick people go blind and cannot go about their work. This has social and economic effects on households and areas. Children often have to replace their parents in the field early on because of these eye diseases.

According to estimates, the need for sunglasses in high mountain regions can be estimated at up to 100 million. In the Andes, the Himalayas, but also in the Hindu Kush , the Pamir , the Altai , the Tibetan high plateau , the Karakoram , as well as in Siberia and Greenland, there is a need for eye protection.

Awards

ISPO 2016 - "Best Brand For Good Award"

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Shades Of Love. - The Himalayan and Andean Eyewear Project. Retrieved October 13, 2019 .
  2. ↑ a b c Shades of Love - Sunglasses for the Himalayas. In: peppermynta.de. June 20, 2017. Retrieved March 23, 2018 .
  3. ↑ The Andes Project. Shades Of Love. Retrieved October 13, 2019 .
  4. ↑ a b sunglasses for Tibet. In: sueddeutsche.de. September 13, 2016, accessed March 23, 2018 .
  5. ↑ shadesoflove.org. Archived from the original on March 23, 2018 ; accessed on March 23, 2018 .
  6. ↑ The Himalaya Project. Shades Of Love. Retrieved October 13, 2019 .
  7. ↑ Lawrence B. Brilliant, Nicole C. Grasset, Ram Prasad Pokhrel, Albert Kolstad, James M. Lepkowski, Girija E. Brilliant, William N. Hawks, R. Pararajasegaram: Associations Among Cataract Prevalence, Sunlight Hours, And Altitude In The Himalayas . In: American Journal of Epidemiology . tape 118 , no. 2 , 1983, p. 250-264 , doi : 10.1093 / oxfordjournals.aje.a113632 .
  8. ↑ Kirti Nath Jha: High Altitude and the Eye . In: The Asia-Pacific Journal of Ophthalmology . tape 1 , no. 3 , May / June 2012, ISSN  2162-0989 , p. 166 , doi : 10.1097 / APO.0b013e318253004e ( lww.com [accessed October 13, 2019]).
  9. ^ Yung Hian Leow, Siew Nee Tham: Uv-Protective Sunglasses for Uva Irradiation Protection . In: International Journal of Dermatology . tape 34 , no. 11 , 1995, ISSN  1365-4632 , pp. 808-810 , doi : 10.1111 / j.1365-4362.1995.tb04405.x .