Packing List Suggestions

We suggest that you print this page and use it as a checklist while packing your luggage.

What Should You Wear While A Unite For Sight Volunteer?

You should dress professionally and not wear clothing that is revealing. The way that you dress reflects your level of respect for the community, so be sure to err on the safe side. If you find that your clothing is causing anyone in the community to be offended, it is important to modify your clothing.

You should NOT wear short shorts, tank tops, or anything sleeveless or with straps. Do not let your stomach show. Do not wear any shorts above the knees.
Much of your time will be spent in village outreaches. For the village outreaches, it is advised that you wear long pants in order to help you avoid bug bites on your legs. You should proactively prevent mosquito bites. Cargo pants for both men and women are ideal for outreaches because they are light weight and comfortable. Another alternative for women is knee-length or longer skirts or capris, though exposed skin will make you more vulnerable to bug bites. On the first day at least, it is preferable for you to wear the Unite For Sight TShirt, and wear it as often as you can. This will help everyone to know who you are and why you are there.
You should bring sneakers and sandals. Closed shoes such as sneakers are strongly advised for outreaches because it will help prevent bug bites on your feet.
In addition to your time in the village outreaches, you will also spend time at the eye clinic. While in the eye clinic, you should dress as you would in any clinic or hospital in your home country. Khakis, polo shirts, and blouses, for example, are acceptable, but jeans, tshirts, or informal wear are not acceptable.
Do not bring expensive clothing or anything that you do not want to get ruined by sand, dirt, mud, sweat, bug spray, or sunscreen.
Do not bring scrubs, a white coat, or other clothing that would lead community members to misunderstand the clothing and believe that you are a doctor. Eye care professionals, however, may bring scrubs.

What Should You Pack?

Bring one large suitcase filled with your personal items and one large suitcase filled with the 500-600 eyeglasses that you are transporting abroad. You should also bring a smaller carry-on suitcase. When you pack the eyeglasses, you should put them in a large garbage bag that is then placed within the suitcase.

Remember that it is possible for your luggage to be delayed or lost by the airlines, especially if you have several airline connections. Any essential items such as medication, malaria prophylaxis, and some underwear and clothing must be packed in your carry-on. Your carry-on bags should include everything that you will need for at least your first few days in case your luggage does not arrive with you. As long as you expect that your luggage will not arrive with you, you will be prepared in case this does occur. Delayed luggage on international flights is more common than you may expect.

The items listed below are packing list suggestions. Please also review the Volunteer-Written Volunteer Manual to read about any other items that alumni volunteers suggest that you bring to your program site.

Passport and visa
Credit card that you used to purchase the airplane ticket. Due to increasing fraud associated with international air travel, many airlines are now requiring that the traveler present their credit card at the airport in order to receive their ticket. Some airlines require that the traveler have the credit card that they used to purchase the ticket.
Program site contact phone numbers
Printout about International SOS services and your International SOS card
Cash for your weekly expenses. The eye clinic can help you to exchange USD to local currency upon arrival. If you live in Australia, for example, it is best to convert your currency to USD to ensure an easy exchange of currency once you arrive abroad.
ATM card (Do not assume that you will be able to use your ATM card. Be sure to call your bank to verify that you can use your bank's ATM card to withdraw cash while abroad at your destination)
Money pouch. A small pouch for money and your camera can be worn around your neck under your clothings, or under your scrubs in the operating theater at the eye clinic.
A suitcase lock is suggested for your luggage so that you can lock your suitcase and secure your Passport, money, electronics, or any valuables.
Small pillow for airplane. Some volunteers also use a small pillow on the long van rides to and from villages.
Enough of any prescription medication you need for the entire time you will be traveling. Your physician will also most likely prescribe a broad-spectrum antibiotic for you to bring such as Cipro in case you become ill.
Malaria prophylaxis
If you wear contacts, be sure to bring enough contact lens solution for the entire time you will be traveling. You should NOT wash your contacts with local water because you can get Amoebas and severe, sometimes incurable conjunctivitis. Do not plan to rely on contacts, and be sure to also bring your glasses.
Mosquito repellent with at least 20% DEET
Anti-itch cream
Antacid and Anti-diarrhea medication
Tylenol/Aspirin/Advil/Motrin
Antihistimines such as Benadryl for bug bites or allergic reactions
If you're prone to motion sickness, you should bring your medication. You're likely to spend a lot of time in the vehicle in order to travel to and from the villages. Many of the roads are of course not paved and can therefore be bumpy.
Tooth brushing supplies. Remember not to brush your teeth with local tap water, just as you should not drink local tap water. You should only put bottled water in your mouth.
Shampoo, body soap, deoderant. 2-in-1 shampoo + conditioner makes showering easiest.
Hair supplies such as brush and hair dryer
Hand soap for washing your hands in the hotel/guest house
Purell and hand wipes for cleaning your hands in the villages. Volunteers use a lot of hand disinfectant, so bring enough to last your entire trip.
Flashlight (for possibility of power outage, which is especially common in Ghana)
Reading light if you want to read while your roommate is asleep, or during a power outage
Pen light, which you can obtain in a store such as Walgreens or Walmart
Ziploc Bags
Baby wipes
Tissues. Remember also that toilet paper is often not available, especially in villages, so you may want to bring extra tissues for this purpose.
Band-aids, antibiotic ointment, and alcohol swabs in case of any open cut.
Feminine supplies
Shaving cream and razors
Earplugs for light sleepers
Watch with alarm
Sunscreen, lip balm with sunscreen, sunglasses, and hat
Umbrella and light rain coat
Snacks (fruit chews, dried fruit, raisins, dried dates, crackers, granola bars, peanut butter, power bars, instant soup). You will be bringing your own lunch to village outreaches, and most volunteers bring protein bars. You generally will not have a "lunch break" while in the villages, so be prepared to take a short break to eat. Volunteers have also found it helpful to bring instant soup. When mixed with bottled water, it can ease stomach upsets. Be sure not to use tap water in the instant soup, however! For Fellows traveling to Ghana, it's important to be aware that oftentimes volunteers in Ghana find that the food they eat doesn't have much fiber (Ghanaian food includes a lot of corn, rice, plantains, etc), and the low-fiber diet can result in constipation for some. You may therefore want to bring fiber supplements, dried fruit, or snack bars with fiber.
Vitamins. Oftentimes volunteers find that their diet and nutritional intake changes considerably while abroad. Bringing vitamins to supplement your nutrition is advantageous.
Special Information For Vegetarians: The Ghanaian diet consists of a lot of carbohydrates (corn, rice, plantains, etc), and protein is usually in the form of meat. Therefore, you should be able to find a lot of carbohydrates to eat, but protein may be harder to find. It is therefore advisable to bring extra protein bars, peanut butter, and other sources of protein with you to supplement your food in Ghana. For those traveling to India, there is a much wider selection of vegetarian offerings since the majority of the population in India is vegetarian, and India has more vegetarians than the rest of the world combined.
Bottles of Water: You will be able to purchase bottles of water soon after arriving abroad. However, it is advantageous to bring a few bottles of water in your luggage so that you have water if you would like it immediately after arriving. Water bottles are especially useful to volunteers arriving late in the night when stores are not open for purchasing water bottles immediately upon arriving.
Purchase a free-standing mosquito net to bring with you. You can obtain a mosquito net from an outdoors store or from an online vendor (i.e. search Google for free standing mosquito net). Do not bring a mosquito net that needs to be affixed to the wall or ceiling because you will not be able to use it since it would damage the guest house walls or ceilings. The mosquito net therefore needs to be free-standing. Even if a volunteer doesn't see large numbers of mosquitoes in their room, most prefer to sleep with the mosquito net. You only need one mosquito to get into your room in order for you to start getting mosquito bites. If two mosquitoes end up in your room, they can breed, and then you can have a swarm of mosquitoes.
- Volunteers have used these types of mosquito nets:
Sheets, pillow cases, and towels in guest houses and hotels abroad are not always as clean as what you may be accustomed to in your home country. If this is important to you, you may want to bring your own top sheet, pillow cases, and towels.
Plug Adapters and Voltage Converters for electric items. Check with an electronics store for your exact needs for any electronics that you are bringing.
- Most laptops accept 110-240 volts and require only a plug adapter and not a voltage converter. Most small electronic devices (i.e. digital cameras) will require a plug adapter and voltage converter intended for small electronic devices. Electric appliances (i.e. hair dryers, curling irons, straighteners, shavers) require a plug adapter and voltage converter intended for devices with motors or heaters. Consult your local electronics store and product documentation for specific guidelines.
- Ghana - 230 volts, 50 Hz
  - Plug Adapter: http://kropla.com/!g.htm
- India - 230 volts, 50 Hz:
  - Plug Adapter: http://kropla.com/india_electric_outlets.htm
- Honduras: 110 volts, 60 Hz (same as U.S.)
  - Plugs are the same as in the U.S.: http://kropla.com/!ab.htm and http://www.honduras-information.hotelhonduras.com/Honduras-electrical-plugs-outlets-voltage.html
For entertainment,bring music and books. Some volunteers enjoy bringing cards, Uno, a jump rope, board games such as Cranium, and other similar entertainment items. Many volunteers bring their ipod, but be sure to keep it and any other expensive items in a safe place, and do not flaunt expensive items while abroad. In order to reach the remote locations to provide the outreach programs, you will usually spend a significant amount of time in vans going to and from the villages, so books, music, or card games and Uno are especially appreciated by volunteers on the van rides. Some volunteers also bring travel pillows for napping in the van rides. For evening entertainment, some volunteers bring a laptop and DVDs so that the volunteers can watch movies on the laptop.
If you're planning to work on research, writing, or other projects, it may be especially helpful for you to bring your laptop. Be aware, however, that the laptop could get damaged, lost, or stolen. We're not aware of any volunteers who have had issues with their laptops abroad, but it is of course always a possibility while abroad, just as this can occur at one's university at home. We suggest that you back up your computer before transporting it abroad. This will prevent you from losing your laptop's data. You should also bring a suitcase lock so that you can lock your laptop in your suitcase in your hotel room. It is also best to carry your laptop onto the airplane in a carry-on bag, instead of putting it into your checked luggage on the airplane.
Most all volunteers bring a digital camera. Again, be sure to keep it in a safe place. Don't forget the charger. You may also want to bring a USB key or a few memory cards to ensure that you don't run out of space on your digital camera's memory card.
If any of your electronics need batteries, be sure to bring those with you.
You should bring your cell phone in case you need to use your phone while in transit from your home country to your destination. Call your cell phone company to "unlock" your cell phone so that it has international calling capabilities in case of an emergency or flight delay while you're in transit abroad. After you arrive to the Unite For Sight program, you will receive a local cell phone from the eye clinic. The eye clinic can help you to purchase minutes for the local cell phone.
Other recommended items for your program site, as per Volunteer-Written Volunteer Manual.

What other supplies should ophthalmologists and optometrists consider bringing?

A past ophthalmologist participant advises that bringing the following supplies will enable you to feel most prepared while working with the eye clinic abroad.

2 sets of your own surgical scrubs (for ophthalmologists only)
OR shoes
"on call" bag containing:
- direct and indirect portable ophthalmoscope
- eye drops
- pen lights
- tissues
- visual acuity reading card
You may want to bring your own surgical instruments if it will make cases more comfortable for you.

What should you do when you arrive?