Casa de Luz is a 501(c)(3) charity organization that provides medical and surgical eye care to indigent patients on the North Shore of the Dominican Republic.

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We are a group of medical and non-medical individuals who volunteer their time and skills to serve the eye care needs of children and adults in the Dominican Republic. Our team members are primarily from the United States, although we have members who have joined us from Canada and Europe.

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In partnership with local organizations and people, Casa de Luz conducts an annual medical and surgical mission to Puerto Plata, to provide completely free medical and surgical eye care for children and adults of the northern shore of the Dominican Republic.

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The mission project was founded by Dr. Kelly Hutcheson and Sherry Jorgenson in 2006, when they made the first mission trip to Puerto Plata and partnered with a local organization, Island Impact. Following formal incorporation as a 501(c)3 organization in 2009, the Casa de Luz team has grown over the years, as have the project goals.

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In 2013, the team doubled their capability for performing cataract surgery by adding a second cataract surgeon to the team.

 

In 2016, the project moved toward increased sustainability by working with the ophthalmology residency program in Santiago to teach Dominican residents in cataract and strabismus surgery. By teaching these young surgeons surgical techniques and best practices, we hope to make an impact for the people we serve and improve the care of children for years to come .

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During our annual mission trip, we have served up to 400-500 children and adults in our Eye Clinic. We care for people of any age who would benefit from strabismus surgery, cataract surgery, or pterygium surgery. In larger years we performed 100-130 of these eye surgeries during the week.

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Since COVID things have been harder, with many challenges in getting donations of supplies, as well as re-establishing relationships in the DR with new local groups as well as the local hospital. Having recently completed our third successful trip since COVID, in March 2026, we are extremely excited about the new relationships we have made, and about the continued success of our Mission Trips.