VisionSpring in Vietnam: Clear Vision Workplaces — VisionSpring COVID-19 Emergency Response

Meet Hanh Trinh - VisionSpring’s Program Coordinator in Vietnam

Hanh tells us about the experience of returning to safe vision screenings in our Clear Vision Workplace program, how the team assures quality of service for eye screenings, and how the workers we serve view the program.

In August 2019 VisionSpring extended its Clear Vision Workplace (CVW) program to Vietnam, a country in need of quality, low-cost eyeglasses for its garment sector workers. With the support of our established brand partners, collectively known as the CVW Alliance, VisionSpring has enlisted implementing partners to screen workers and provide eyeglasses free of cost in factory settings. Since the start of the CVW program one and a half years ago, nearly 40,000 factory workers have had their vision screened, and almost 15,000 workers were provided with much-needed eyeglasses. None of this would have been possible without Hanh Trinh, who single-handedly coordinated these screenings in multiple locations with brand, factory, and eye hospital stakeholders.

In March 2020, Hanh was confronted with a new challenge: the COVID-19 pandemic forced Vietnam into strict lockdowns, forcing all factories to stop production and halted all worker well-being programs. By June 2020, however, Vietnam stood out as a global example of how to manage the virus and reduce the spread. After a brief, localized reemergence of the virus in August, Vietnam ended 2020 with 35 deaths and 1,465 total cases.

When I spoke to Hanh in mid-December, the team had been in full swing for nearly three months, after re-starting screenings on October 1st.

VS: Hi Hanh! Can you introduce yourself and give an overview of the work that is happening in Vietnam right now?

Hanh: Hi there, I’m Hanh Trinh. I have worked as a Coordinator for VisionSpring’s Clear Vision Workplace program in Vietnam for almost 2 years now. I am based in Hanoi, but regularly travel to Ho Chi Minh City for VisionSpring. We resumed work here on October 1st, and our operations here in Vietnam are 100% activated.

When we started in October there was a really excited tone - everyone was glad to get back to providing eyeglasses. In just three months, October through December, we screened the vision of workers in 22 factories, about 24,000 workers across Vietnam. Of these factories, 20 smaller ones are in the south of the country, where we reached about 9,800 people. In the north, we worked in two huge factories where we screened the vision of 7,000 and 6,000 workers collectively.

Hanh interviewing a worker with new eyeglasses at a factory in northern Vietnam in January 2021.

VS: Can you tell me more about the COVID protocols and how the teams and workers are staying safe?

H: We pay so much attention to the COVID-19 protocols. The government requirements here in Vietnam are strong, and the factories have their own protocols as well. We distance, wear masks all the time and frequently wash our hands. Some factories measure body temperature as well. We also have reduced the number of people allowed in the screening area, and make sure we do the screenings in a large and well-ventilated space.

VS: How many people can VisionSpring usually screen per day in the factories?

H: COVID procedures have made the process a little slower, because we’re taking extra care with distancing. With the help of our implementing partner we screen 300-350 workers on average per day, which is almost the same as pre-Covid.

A worker in January 2021 after receiving VisionSpring eyeglasses.

VS: How many of these people need glasses?

H: In this period of October through December [2020] a combined average of 37% of the workers that we screeded needed glasses. Of those who needed eyeglasses, 40% required prescription glasses and 60% needed reading glasses. In the South of Vietnam these numbers are even higher - 42% of workers we screened needed eyeglasses. One factory in the south had a refraction rate up to 70%!

VS: That is really impactful. So, that means in a factory of 1,000 people, about 400 workers were laboring with blurry vision before we arrived. It’s hard to believe. You speak directly with a lot of these workers (and gather the best customer stories!), what do you feel is their impression of the vision program?

H: People in Vietnam have an impression that free programs are very cheap, meaning low in quality, so we must show them that the quality of this program [the vision outreach] is good and that they can trust us. I always think about how we need to make our customers, the workers, satisfied and happy, and provide them the best.

We use two different implementing partners, one in the North and South, and they both have to be the same quality - we are one service. I work hard to maintain this. We’ve also learned to work better together, to collaborate. There was a learning curve at first where we had to communicate to the optometrists that they are also counselors - to slow down and give more detail about eyeglasses to the workers.

VS: What do you think is the most important part of the vision outreach process?

H: Many people only pay attention to getting glasses, but I think the counseling part is really the most important. There is no use if we provide glasses and they don’t wear them. It’s about retention and getting people to understand how to use their new eyeglasses.

This step happens at the last stage in the vision camp process. Workers receive their glasses, and can also talk about their needs, ask questions, and learn how to take care of their new eyeglasses. For many of them, it’s their first pair of eyeglasses, so you have to be patient with their concerns. I think it’s very important to provide clear, short and easy-to-understand directions. I don’t want someone to walk away with more questions.

VS: How do you think workers feel about the program?

H: It’s hard to describe how the people feel here, but we can see it through their smile and their eyes. It’s easy to tell with reading glasses because it’s such a small, but powerful shift and they receive them immediately. People are so happy when they see through these new glasses especially for the first-time wearers.

Factory management is also very supportive. Vision screening only takes 20 minutes of a worker’s time away from the factory floor, but allowing someone to see clearly is rewarding in so many ways and managers know this.

VS: I’m sure you’ve met a lot of people who had their lives changed upon receiving glasses. Does anyone stand out to you recently?

One day in the late afternoon I spoke with a man from a factory who needed prescription glasses for distance vision. He was 36 years old and really hesitant, because he was afraid that he would have to pay for them. Eventually he explained that he was having kidney treatment and he was still working to be able to pay for it. His whole focus was on that treatment, even though he was aware that his eyesight was very poor. Once we explained that there is no fee, and he received the glasses for free I could see it was a big relief him - for me too.

Thank you Hanh, and the team in Vietnam!

For more info about the Clear Vision Workplace program, you can visit the info page, here.