GP Dr Sam Muthuveloe doesn't mind making a spectacle of himself – especially if it helps the poor of his beloved Sri Lanka.

Milton Keynes-based Hope Outreach UK charity has worked among the poor of that country for years and for the past five it has been running free vision clinics.

With daily wages as low as £2, people cannot afford eye treatment or glasses to correct vision problems, work-related trauma or infection of the eye made worse by malnutrition.

And for many, poor vision means not being able to work at all.

In October, a team from Hope Outreach is off to Sri Lanka with volunteer health professionals paying their own way and giving their services and time for free.

They will take with them a consignment of secondhand specs.

"We collect them, have them washed, package them and take them with us," said Dr Sam.

Each will have been 'neutralised' on a special machine so their prescription can be matched to patients in Sri Lanka who have been assessed by qualified opticians.

But the team needs MORE glasses and particularly off-the-shelf Ready Readers and high-minus (-10 and above) prescription spectacles.

"Almost everyone who wears glasses will have an old, unused pair lying around somewhere," said Dr Sam.

"Having spectacles to correct their vision opens a new world of hope and opportunities to the people we help.

"Without good vision, their economic, social and personal independent life is greatly compromised," he said.

>> You can drop off your donated glasses at Dr Sam's surgery at Sovereign Medical Centre, Sovereign Drive, Pennyland, Milton Keynes MK15 8AJ between 8am and 6.30pm.

For more information, visit www.hopeoutreach.org.uk