AN optician helped hand out 1,700 pairs of spectacles to impoverished people during a trip to Ethiopia.

Graham Farrow, who works at Dollond & Aitchison in Howardsgate, WGC, joined eight other dispensing opticians from across the UK for a two-week visit to the East African republic.

During his stay in the country, which has just six qualified optometrists serving a population of nearly 86m, Graham helped test 2,000 people and distributed donated glasses to many of those who needed them.

Speaking to the WHT, the 33-year-old said: “It was a great experience.

“We saw people in their 20s who had never worn glasses before and who needed a prescription.

“It makes a massive difference to their lives, which makes you feel good.”

Graham, of Marlborough Close, Oaklands, near Welwyn, travelled to the Horn of Africa with Vision Aid Overseas, a UK charity dedicated to helping people in the developing world whose lives are blighted by poor eye sight.