By Holly Lennon

A Glasgow optometry student has spoken of her challenging volunteering trip which saw her treat 1500 people.

Samantha Davidson, an optometry student, has just returned as a volunteer on a custom-built healthcare train in South Africa.

Samantha, who works in the Buchanan Galleries branch of Vision Express, described her two week long trip as “challenging but fulfilling”.

After jetting off to Johannesburg alongside nine optometry students, they were tasked to work on a custom-built Phelophepa Health Care Train, which stopped at rural locations across South Africa including Vryburg and Delareyville.

Samantha said: “We’re used to providing a range of lenses from individual prescriptions to customers at Vision Express, but on the train there was a limited collection available. This meant our patients didn’t get tailored treatment - we had to make do and adapt. This was one of the biggest learning curves.”

Samantha described one of her most memorable moments when an elderly lady with cataracts in both eyes boarded in Vryburg.

She added: “To start off with she struggled to see the biggest ‘E’ on the chart and quite often this disheartened patients, however after conducting some tests with lenses, she could identify many more characters.

“So often, I found, you are left feeling helpless when none of the train’s services are able to help someone whose vision is past saving or even helped by glasses, but the smile on her face and her excitement when she was able to read down the chart made my trip.”

The train has been operating for almost 20 years with a team of full-time professionals and volunteers delivering health services to remote areas of the country, supporting communities who don’t have access to healthcare services.

What initially started out as only eye clinic coaches in 1994, today offers an impressive fully-fitted train to provide more comprehensive primary healthcare, dental, ophthalmic and psychological services as well as education and outreach programmes.