28 July 2006
Vision Aid Overseas has welcomed a new chairman and elected two new trustees at its Annual General Meeting at Burleigh Court in Loughborough on 23 July 2006. Felicity Harding replaces Paul Surridge as the charity’s chair and brings to the position a wealth of experience in the voluntary and public sector.
Paul Surridge, who is Chief Executive of the Sight Care Group, became VAO’s chairman in 2003 and has stewarded the charity through a period of important strategic development. During 2005/2006, VAO had its most successful year ever, launching 17 overseas projects and sending a total of 92 volunteers to the developing world. The atmosphere at the AGM reflected the optimism of the charity but Paul Surridge, in his closing address, reiterated that VAO should not lose sight of its goals and remember that there was still an enormous amount of work to do. During 2006/07 VAO is hoping to do even more and is planning to run 21 projects and send even more people overseas. This was highlighted by the fact that three VAO teams were currently in the field during the AGM weekend in Zambia, Uganda and Ukraine.
In her opening address Felicity Harding thanked Paul Surridge for his words of encouragement and for his time as chairman of VAO. “You [Paul] have constantly reminded us of our primary purpose, to help needy people in the developing world who need spectacles to live an ordinary life, and have helped us to modernise and move forward,” said Felicity. “It is a testament to you, and your commitment to VAO, that the charity is great deal busier today than in 2003. It has been a pleasure working with you.”
Felicity Harding is a medical social worker who has worked in the private, voluntary and charitable sectors. Latterly, she was a senior executive with Hampshire County Council Social Services Department and head of services in North Hampshire. Now retired, she is also a non-executive member of the National Victim Support service and a volunteer for British Executives Overseas. Felicity has been a trustee of Vision Aid Overseas since 2004. During her preparation for the chair, Felicity has visited the VAO office a number of times, assisted the Specsort scheme and participated in an overseas project to Malawi as a dispensing assistant. “I am passionate about Vision Aid Overseas and I have a total belief in the work of the charity. It is an honour to be your chairman and I am looking forward to working with you all.”
The two new trustees are Professor Rachel North, who teaches optometry at Cardiff University and Isla Richards, a professional fundraiser who is currently working for Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. Rachel North has been a member of Vision Aid Overseas since 1987, was a trustee of the charity during the 1990’s and was the charities chair from 1994 – 96. She has a wealth of experience of VAO’s work as she has participated in 7 overseas projects. She sits on the charities Overseas Projects Committee and works as the voluntary In-Country Education Manager. Isla Richards brings a strong knowledge of modern fundraising techniques and hands-on experience of charity management to the board that will help to progress the aims and vision of VAO.
This year Vision Aid Overseas introduced a proxy voting system so that members who could not attend the event were still able to take part in the election and management process. This is an important step forward for the charity and strengthens their commitment to its voluntary membership and its project volunteers who give so much of their time and energy to forward the charities goals. All VAO overseas projects are organise, managed and staffed by voluntary optometrists and dispensing opticians – most of whom are juggling busy professional and family commitments. In his AGM address to the membership, VAO’s treasurer Brian Mitchell commented “our greatest asset remains our volunteers who give their time to our work. We are committed to retaining our volunteer ethos whilst striving towards our objectives.” VAO is the only UK charity solely dedicated to helping people in the developing world who need spectacles to live an ordinary life – an estimated 200 million people.
For more information about the work of Vision Aid Overseas please visit their
website or call the office on 01293 535016. If you are interested in becoming a member or overseas work please
email and request a membership pack.