Our story
Our story starts in 2018, in sunny Trinidad and Tobago, a twin island republic renowned for its Carnival and steel drums.
The concept of Eye Assist Optical started on a thought of simply helping those when you can and listening even when you can’t. A line passed down to one of the founders, from his grandfather.
It’s even funnier because this story had started even before 2018, when we look back and start to connect the dots.
Those events that stay with you throughout your life :
It’s 2004 and Claude Poulido finds himself in care of Valmiki Poulido. He had been in care of him for some years before, but what makes this year so special, is that Valmiki is starting high school and this means more resources are needed for him. At this point you are maybe asking yourself, ‘‘well what does this have to do with eye care,’’ that’s alright, just hang in there for a bit longer.
During the two month vacation leading up to Valmiki’s start off high school, Claude loses his glasses on a hunting trip, he now needs a new one so he takes his grandson to an optical with him.
You see, Claude, was unable to purchase his glasses, because the prices were so high, it meant not being able to get books for his grandson. Adding to this was the manner in which the staff at that particular practice dealt with the situation, it left an unpleasant taste in their pallets.
Pass a good deed along
By the time Valmiki Poulido had grown to adult hood he worked in the hospitality and tourism industry. He had the title, international chef , consultant and kitchen designer, quite a mouthful. Claude Poulido had passed in 2013 at the age of 74.
In 2018, both founders meet for the first time. Melanie Ramsuchit had brought forward to Valmiki , she wanted to go independent, she felt as if there was no real future with her current organization and he saw the opportunity to change landscape and price flooring of optics in Trinidad and Tobago . The metaphoric lovely child was corporately born in 2019, EYE ASSIST OPTICAL LIMITED
Oranges go a long way
In the first year, Valmiki Poulido expected no real results, in fact he was certain that the marketing budget needed to bring the first location into visibility would be so large that they wouldn’t have seen any returns until the following year. Luckily he was wrong, you see, Claude had such an impact in the community he lived that people were lined up to support this venture. A very common story off some of the earlier customers , related them to receiving free oranges and produce as children from Claude.
Along with the support also came those needing aid, to spite several people not knowing Valmiki personally, they assumed his personality would of been similar to that of his grand father, this gave Valmiki, more of a drive to find ways to assist these underserved fractions. For the past 5 years Valmiki has made Eye Assist into a for profit company with a large social impact.
You see to the core of it, we are simply, people, trying to make the world a better place, one good deed at a time, by helping one patient at a time and spreading the good will around.
