MUSGRAVE-BASED organisation Bright Eyes Trust will host a swim-a-thon fundraiser on April 1 at Crawford La Lucia from 08:00 to 12:00. The swim-a-thon will raise funds towards the education of 18 visually impaired children at the Bright Eyes Centre. The Bright Eyes Centre for visually impaired young children provides highly specialised care, support and early intervention therapies to visually impaired little ones from birth to five years old.
Project co-ordinator at Bright Eyes Trust, Cathryn Aylett, says the organisation’s goal is to raise R162K towards the learners’ term two fees. “The termly costs include transport, pre-school care, therapy support, karate lessons, Abagility Math classes, pre-braille, early literacy, aftercare and skills for daily living. Parents also receive extensive training on how to care for their visually impaired child, nutritional support, and counselling,” said Aylett.
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The Bright Eyes Trust was established in 2009 to meet a critical need for early intervention, care, education and support for visually impaired children and their caregivers in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal.
“Our primary goal is to provide highly specialised and adapted intervention and foundational strategies to ensure the optimal and naturally healthy physical, cognitive and emotional development of visually impaired young children – all within a supportive and nurturing environment,” said Aylett.
The Trust serves as a source of comfort, support and vital information for families and caregivers while offering the best possible intervention and daily stimulation, adapted and specific to the needs of visually impaired children.
“Our work is geared towards educating others and exciting the natural curiosity of visually impaired children. We wish to encourage the children to explore the world they live in confidently and competently so they never grow to internalise their disability and fall behind the expected standard of their peers. Over the last ten years, we have proudly adapted and become more innovative in our approach to focus on the critical need for early intervention, care, education and support for the communities of our visually impaired beneficiaries,” said the project co-ordinator.
The Bright Eyes Trust has evolved and developed projects that include addressing nutritional needs through their community kitchen and food-parcel distribution, and addressing healthcare needs through the eye screenings and paediatric ophthalmology support project.
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“The Trust is supporting early education through our ECD programme and developing foundational math skills through Abagility Access. We recognise the need for community and a sense of well-being and strive to create supportive spaces where our beneficiaries can process their emotions through the Expressive Solutions Art project,” said Aylett.
Abagility is a comprehensive programme which focuses on the Japanese abacus maths technique but also teaches children how to apply this method to their school maths and in their daily lives.
“Our Matriarch Project provides a platform for mothers, caregivers and women to gather in solidarity. Our youngest project, Wakanda Girls, focuses on developing changemakers in our local communities through restoring dignity and empowering conversation,” said Aylett.
For more information or to support the Bright Eyes Trust, visit https://brighteyestrust.co.za/ or follow Bright Eyes Trust on Facebook.
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