School for opticians in Malawi

Based on an idea by Giuseppe Perbellini, an entrepreneur from San Giovanni Lupatoto (Verona), the project is for an opticians' school in Balaka, a town of about 30 thousand inhabitants in Malawi, in the heart of Africa.
Perbellini is one of the founding members of Opto In, an association with over 250 opticians set up in the 1980s. The school should be completed within three years, but meanwhile Opto In has allocated a bursary for a young man from Balaka; he is a guest at San Giovanni Lupatoto where he will study for a diploma in optometry at the Zaccagnini Institute.

'We began our collaboration with Africa in 1985 when Giovanna Tosi, a nun from the Canossa religious order, was sent to Balaka, Malawi', Perbellini explained to L'Arena di Verona in an interview about the project. 'A missionary group called Punto Malawi was then set up in the town and for twenty years it has supported the Balaka mission and the nun's activities. A cooperative was also created at that time; called Andiamo Campus it encompasses around 130 activities and has over 600 members. As part of this cooperative, we opened a glasses store to which we regularly send glasses and other optical materials. We realized that there was no school for opticians in the whole of Malawi. This is essential in order to continue to provide this kind of service to those with sight defects'.

'We are now moving in this direction and we will accept help from anyone who is sensitive to this project. Let's remember that what is a small amount to us can make a huge difference to them', Perbellini concluded.

(Source: L'Arena di Verona)