SECUNDA – The importance of eye care health is in the spotlight in October, which is Eye Care Awareness month.
In the lead up to World Sight Day on 13 October, an annual day of awareness that focuses global attention on blindness and vision impairment, Ster-Kinekor and its flagship CSI programme, Vision Mission, are continuing in their mission to make a difference to the eyesight of children around the country, one pair of spectacles at a time.
“Making a difference to eye care health of underprivileged children across the country is the primary focus of our CSI initiative, Vision Mission,” explained Ms Geraldine Engelman, CSI manager of Ster-Kinekor Theatres.
She said it is estimated that 75 per cent of blindness is avoidable either through prevention or through treatment, which is why it is important to undergo an eye test at least once a year.
However, for thousands of South Africans, and children in particular, this is not possible.
She further mentioned that sight is also the key to learning and it is estimated that up to 80 per cent of what children learn is assimilated through their eyes.
Thus, any form of vision impairment can adversely affect a child’s performance in the classroom, on the sports field and, by implication, his or her social interaction with peers.
“This week, as we commemorate what World Sight Day stands for, it is wonderful to be able to make a real difference to the eyesight of more than 70 pupils from Trichardtsfontein Combined School in Secunda.
“In partnership with the National Department of Health, Brien Holden Vision Institute and Spec Savers, we have been able to screen the eyesight of more than 300 pupils at the school,” Ms Engelman added.
Pupils who required spectacles were fitted with theirs pairs, sponsored by Brien Holden Vision Institute, at an event at Ster-Kinekor Secunda Mall on Tuesday, 11 October.
With their ‘new eyes’, the children and their teachers were also treated to a fun morning at the movies, watching the delightful animated film, The Secret Life of Pets, armed with a cold drink and popcorn from Ster-Kinekor.
Pupils also received goodie bags at the end of the morning’s entertainment.
Ms Engelman said their objective with Ster-Kinekor’ Vision Mission CSI Project is to provide corrective eye care to disadvantaged pupils and with their supportive partners, they were able to identify schools within the communities in which they have cinemas that would benefit from their services.
“This provided us with the perfect opportunity to work together to give the pupils of Trichardtsfontein Combined School a clear and bright future.
“In South Africa, where the demand for public healthcare services is stretched, something as basic but necessary as regular eye tests among children becomes less of a priority.
“The tragedy is that of the thousands of children who suffer from some form of visual impairment, the majority of these cases are treatable if discovered at an early age.
“However, many go unnoticed and untreated because so many children, particularly those in underprivileged areas, do not have access to affordable treatment,” stated Ms Engelman.
The aims of Ster-Kinekor’s Vision Mission are to contribute to the elimination of avoidable blindness in communities across South Africa and to increase awareness of low vision as a major public health issue.
Their programme was also aligned to the World Health Organisation’s 20/20 Vision Project that aims at eradicating preventable blindness by the year 2020.
