Five Tasmanian optometrists from Total Eyecare have been awarded the Order of Timor Leste medal by His Excellency Jose Ramos Horta, President of East Timor. The medals were awarded to recognise the optometrists’ extraordinary voluntary service to the people of East Timor from 2002 to 2020.

The optometrists – Andrew Koch, Andrew Maver, the late Micheal Knipe, Sib Payne, and Colin McKenzie – were founding members of the ProVision Optometry Team (PVOT), a humanitarian initiative that transformed eye care in East Timor following the country’s independence.

The program began in the newly independent nation in May 2002, officially concluding in 2020, having successfully transitioned eye care services to local management under the Timor Leste Ministry of Health.

PVOT, supported by ProVision, worked in collaboration with Optometry Giving Sight, the East Timor Eye Program, and the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. Over 40 ProVision optometrists volunteered, providing comprehensive eye care to thousands of people in remote areas, training local eye care workers and optical technicians, supporting the training of Timorese eye surgeons, and establishing eye clinics across the country.