As you may have heard us say on more than one occasion, our relationship with the Faco Xtrema team is very close thanks to the relationship between Gerardo Valvecchia and Dr. Elena Barraquer. Gerardo was one of our first volunteers and, fascinated by everything he experienced, he couldn’t help but do more. So our ties came together to collaborate, not only in expeditions organised by the Foundation, but also in collaborating in smaller campaigns in Argentina, where our help is very much needed. So Gerardo, on behalf of and collaborating with the Elena Barraquer Foundation, organises campaigns all over Argentina, in association with other ophthalmologists, public bodies, hospitals…

This September a one-day event took place in Tucumán, a city in the northwest of the country. There, with the help of the Tucumán Society of Ophthalmology and the Government of Tucumán, a large team operated on 50 people from the high mountains with very few resources.

Here are some of the messages from the volunteers expressing their feelings, which we like to share with you so much. #TogetherWeAreStronger #NoMoreCataratas

Friends.
Already on the plane.
I am really happy.
These are the things that make my heart happy (as I always say).
And I think it’s good that there are other ‘sick people’ like me in the world.
They left everything to be able to be there and help.
That is not a minor thing, nor is it so common.
I hope this is the first of many more campaigns.
We love them very much and are grateful for the way they have treated us.
For a world with less people blinded by cataracts.
Elena Barraquer passed this madness on to me a few years ago, and I hope I have passed it on to you a little.
She and her foundation will continue to make it possible for the wheel to keep turning.

Gerardo Valvecchia – Surgeon

The fire is lit! Thank you for such a warm welcome! Thank you for allowing me to be part of it!
A big hug to all of you!
See you soon!
God bless you all

Pablo Luis Daponte

Dear friends!
When we started this project we thought we were going to be three locos following one more than us coming from Buenos Aires. Today we are completely happy to have seen how many locos there are in this Society, from big locos to little locos who are just starting out. And on top of that we found some crazy people who were next to us in the operating theatre and who are even worse off than us.
We would like to thank each and every one of you, those who went the first time, those who went on Sunday and those who have already committed to go next time.
And especially thanks to two geniuses and a genius, who are from so far away but who got so close to each one of us, just with the humility of the great ones. !!!! Thank you all and this has just begun.
And as the ballad for a madman says… Love me like this, piantao, piantao, piantao, piantao
Climb into this crazy tenderness that’s in me
Put on this wig of larks, and fly!
Fly with me now, come, fly, come, come!

Luis

And here are some links to the press coverage. Link