How you can take action, one conversation at a time
Ruth never set out to be a spokesperson.
“I’m not somebody who would push myself forward,” she says. “Me, me, me, or anything like that.”
But over the past year, Ruth and her husband Ross have stepped into something new. At community health events across the Wellington region, they spoke with people about glaucoma, answered questions, and shared information to help others understand the condition and take it seriously.
Both Ruth and Ross live with glaucoma themselves.
Ross was diagnosed around 18 years ago following a retinal detachment, cataracts, and later glaucoma. Ruth’s diagnosis came later, picked up during a routine optometrist visit.
“You don’t know when it starts,” Ruth says. “You don’t realise you’ve lost a little bit of vision.”
From showing up to speaking up
Ross is more involved with the Wellington Glaucoma NZ glaucoma group.
“He would go off,” she says, smiling, “and I’d think, right, I’ll enjoy a bit of peace and quiet with the paper.”
When Glaucoma NZ asked if they would help staff a stand at a local health event, they said yes.
“They asked Ross how he’d feel about going,” Ruth recalls. “And that I’d go with him. So I thought, well… all right then.”
Their first event was held in the Hutt Valley. People stopped to ask questions, including a group of Pasifika students. “They’d say, ‘my nan’ or ‘my koroua,’” Ruth says. “That opened the door for real conversations.”
How conversations lead to action
At the stand, Ross and Ruth use glaucoma simulation glasses to help people understand what vision loss can look like.
“That’s when it clicks,” Ruth says. “People say, ‘Oh my goodness.’”
They also talk about who glaucoma can affect.
“People think it’s just older people,” Ruth says. “But it isn’t.”
By their second event, in Porirua, Ruth felt more confident talking with people herself.
“At the first one, I let Ross do most of the talking,” she says. “By the second, I felt comfortable stepping in.”
“It’s not onerous,” she adds. “We’ve done two events in six or seven months.”
What changes when people get involved
For Ruth, volunteering is about helping people feel less alone and more informed.
“When you meet someone else who has glaucoma,” she says, “you realise you’re not the only one.”
She’s also clear that taking action doesn’t have to be intimidating.
“It’s not standing on a street corner shaking a bucket,” Ruth says. “It’s about being there.”
As Glaucoma New Zealand looks toward the International Year of Volunteers for Sustainable Development in 2026, Ross and Ruth’s experience shows how awareness turns into action through ordinary people choosing to step forward.
“As a group,” Ruth says, “we need to be out there.”
Volunteering to spread awareness
If you’ve ever thought about helping others learn more about glaucoma, whether at a community event, health expo, or awareness day, Glaucoma New Zealand welcomes volunteers who want to support education and awareness.
As Ruth puts it, sometimes it starts with thinking:
“Yes… I could do that.”
Email Glaucoma NZ today or phone 0800 452 826 to register your interest in spreading awareness of glaucoma in your local area.