A Man with a Mission
Bob Heffington of Heffington optical in Springfield, Missouri is a man with a mission. He’s from the "Show Me" state and is quite literally doing exactly that. Long before September 11th, Bob has been doing his bit for world peace and brotherhood. Bob has been traveling the globe supplying school children with glasses and he’s doing it alone, with his own money. Bob is showing the world that Americans are people with big heats, people who care.
Sitting with Bob recently at dinner, he talked passionately about the things he had seen and done. He’s got 140 schools in Tibet that he intends to visit and assist. It will take him 10 years to supply all these children with glasses. High altitudes and thin air won’t stop Bob; he’ll adjust.
The level of poverty in Nicaragua horrified him until he was told that this was not the worst place he would see. Bob’s response was "show me the worst". With that request, Bob was introduced to India. He was surprised to learn that in many schools, children are sent home and their parent told they cannot learn. In many cases, they are told that their offspring are mentally impaired. As Bob says, these kids are impaired, but not mentally, they can learn, they simply can’t see! Enter Mr. Heffington.
Bob has attempted to rally some support for his cause. His wife Judy, sons Mark Gary and their wives assist his cause by running the family business while he is on the road giving. He is often away for six weeks at a time. Beyond the family support, Bob could use some financial and optical support. Though many businesses have "spiffs", useless frames and lenses that they would be happy to unload, Bob’s mission is to deliver the best children’s size glasses he can lay his hands on. As Bob says, "it’s important that the fit be right and these children should fell good about themselves."
Mr. Heffington’s next trip is to Vietnam in September and we’re sure he’ll find many more children and families to help there. Should you wish to learn more about his cause and foundation he has established, Bob can be reached at: opti_man@msn.com . His foundation is called Eye Companion.
Particularly at this time, when we are so consumed by the threat of further terrorist attack, it is heartening to spend time with a man like Bob. Nothing that has happened this last year has stopped him from living his life in sincere and giving way. He lives by the state’s Motto and is an inspiration in a dark time. Bob is a terrific ambassador for the United States and should be supported.
Bente Jensen and Stephen Cohen
C.C. Systems
Largo Florida
PO Box 774
Springfield, MO 65806
417-865-5549
fax 417-869-9517
Tax ID 43-1925280
Sharing Faith that makes
a difference you can see
12/06/2001
God has opened the door in Tibet where 143 schools in eastern Tibet house approximately 80,000 children. These are Tibetan schools that came under Communist rule by China in 1951 and have no visual services available to them. The Himalayan Mountains separate China from India and Nepal where many refugee Tibetan children have "walked-over" to get away from Communist oppression. They do this by "lots" as to which child gets sent over. This "walk-over" takes weeks, even months in some cases for completion. Having nothing except the desire to save their heritage and get an education, these traditional Monks have abandoned by their own system and find Christianity to be welcomed as the love of Christ radiates through compassionate ministries in the area.
There are four refugee schools in Northern India with approximately 6,000 children enrolled at a time. We can only guess Nepal has similar numbers of refugees desiring a better way of life and education. With God’s help and persistence of endeavor, this door will soon be opened as well as the number better identified. Most of these children, approximately 80% or higher, are very near sighted and many have need for strong astigmatic corrections. Visual programs for the children become a high priority to effective education and occupational training. The adult sized, donated glasses will not accommodate the needs of school children and adult prescriptions are much different than what a child needs. New smaller spectacles have to be custom made in advance when going to field schools. The cost ranges from $15 to $20 per chills and will last them three to four years. With numbers in excess of 100,000 this becomes a very large project very fast, and needs funding from all sectors and walks of life.
The Bible teaches the poor will always be with us and our commission is to spread the word and love of Jesus to all end of the world. The refugee children need that love and with a Christian school environment their future is enhanced for years to come. For only 2 cents a day, you will give the gift of sight to a child. $20 is all it takes to sponsor a child for 36 months and open the doors to the next generation. At a $1.00 per day for 36 month you can sponsor 50 children. That’s one soda a day to make a difference of a lifetime. $1000 to sponsor a whole classroom of refugee children that otherwise would not have a chance for a better more productive way of life. May God touch your heart while this door is open.
Your donation is tax deductible and the children will appreciate it.
Thank you,
Bob Heffington
Chairman, Eye Companion