On the floating islands of Puno
The GoodVision (Peru) team visited a very special place: the floating islands of Puno in Lake Titicaca.
Lake Titicaca is the largest freshwater lake in South America and lies almost 4,000 meters above sea level on the Altiplano, the high plateau in the Andes. The western part of the lake belongs to Peru, including the floating islands. The eastern part of the huge inland body of water belongs to Bolivia.
Mobile to where the infrastructure is lacking
GoodVision has been active in Peru since 2019. We started with a mobile team around the capital Lima. Three teams are now working to provide the population with glasses.
There is a lack of hospitals and opticians
The Urus are an indigenous ethnic group that has lived around Lake Titicaca for thousands of years. Their more than 50 floating islands are made of totora reeds, as are their houses and boats. The few hundred men, women and children on the islands lead a simple life. They live from fishing and selling handicrafts to tourists. There is neither a hospital nor ophthalmologic care.
Our team was welcomed all the more warmly. In total, we carried out over 360 eye tests in two weeks. In the end, 186 people returned to their islands with their glasses and a new view of the world.
