BOUNTIFUL -- While many Scouts focus on local service projects when working to earn their Eagle Scout award, one local Scout stretched his goals across the world to Africa. "I've wanted to help Africa ever since visiting the This Is the Place National Monument," said 13-year-old Nick Johnson. "While we were there, we watched a movie on a couple's mission in Ghana. Ever since then, I've been looking for a way to help Africa."

Determined to focus his Eagle Scout project on Africa, Johnson spent months looking for a way he could contribute.

"I knew I couldn't go there and build a house or something that big," Johnson said. "So I had to look for something already in place."

"Nick sent out feelers to different organizations to figure out what to do," said Renell Johnson, Nick's mother. "He even contacted Young Men General President Dahlquist to ask for suggestions."

It wasn't until Johnson saw a Davis County Clipper article that he found a way to focus on Africa.

"One day, I saw a Clipper article about World Joy," Johnson said. "World Joy seemed to do just what I wanted to do, so I contacted them to see if there was a way I could help."

World Joy is a nonprofit humanitarian organization located out of Salt Lake City that aids villages in Africa by building schools, water wells, etc.

"I called them up and asked them what Ghana might need," said Johnson. "They gave me a video to watch, which explained some of the needs the people over there have."

After watching the video, Johnson found that eye glasses were rare and greatly needed. From there, he began planning his Eagle Scout project.

"I started by asking optical centers if I could place bins in their buildings for people to drop in their old glasses," Johnson said. "About 50 percent let me do it."

Johnson placed bins in approximately 15 optical centers throughout Bountiful and Layton.

While the bins began to fill with glasses, Johnson spent countless hours knocking on neighbors' doors, searching for even more glasses. Johnson also collected glasses from Shopko optical centers.

"Shopko has a deal that if you turn in your old glasses, you can get a second pair of new glasses for half off," Johnson said. "So I was able to get a lot of glasses from Shopko."

While the bins filled with glasses, Johnson's project was far from over.

"Once the glasses were collected, Nick and the Scouts from his troop washed and cleaned each pair," said Renell Johnson. "Then, Nick brought the glasses to doctors who helped him neutralize them and find out what each pair's prescription was."

"The doctors would take about 100 glasses and spend their own time working on them," Renell Johnson continued. "Doctors that helped Nick were Dr. Pace at Family Vision Care of Bountiful, Dr. Smith at Bountiful Vision Plaza, Dr. Lyman at Reflections Optical and Dr. Wilkes at Bountiful Eye Care."

Other centers that helped included Bountiful Hills Eye Center, Standard Optical in Layton Hills Mall, Salt Lake Vision and Shopko Optical in Bountiful.

In the end, Johnson collected 551 usable glasses that will be sent to villages in Ghana this summer.

In total, Johnson spent almost a year working on his project, but he hopes that the glasses collected for his project will aid needy people for many years to come.

"Nick's done a lot to help our organization," said Tim Farnes, founder of World Joy. "His project will help many."

For more information about World Joy, visit their Web site www.worldjoyinc.org.