1,685 children benefit from free eye check in Lagos
No fewer than 1,685 school children in some communities in Ikorodu, Lagos State, have benefited from a “Free Eye Check, Diagnosis, Treatment and Eye Glasses Outreach’’organised by the RESTORE Foundation for Child Sight. The Executive Director of the Foundation, Dr Halima Alimi, revealed to newsmen in Lagos on Sunday that the aim of the outreach was to prevent eye problems in children. This, according to her, is because poor vision impairs learning ability, and may ultimately cause blindness. According to reports, Restore Foundation undertakes action and advocacy for improving eye health in children.
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Alimi said: “Our mission is to bring about maximum academic attainment for children through optimising their vision, because with good vision, children can excel academically. Unfortunately, many children don’t perform well academically, just because they are hampered by poor vision. Hence, this program is to test their eyes to know their condition and to detect any developing problem for quick treatment. Those who need eye drops or glasses or surgery are provided with medications by the foundation, absolutely free, because we know they can’t afford the cost. This is our own way of helping underprivileged children break out of the cycle of poverty,’’ she said.
Alimi also added that the roughly two- year-old foundation holds a quarterly outreach and the first was held in Ebute-Metta East and West communities, including Makoko. She also emphasized that the riverine areas were the main target of the project because the population there are underprivileged.
The eye specialist said: “My team, which comprises of general ophthalmologists, pediatric ophthalmologists and others, have so far tested about 1,685 children. We have given out over 466 bottles of eye drops, detected 97 children who need glasses, and eight others who need sight-restoring cataract surgery in within the three days of the planned four-day outreach,’’ she noted.
Alimi explained that the foundation solely depended on donations from friends and members of the public for financial support and sponsorship. Apart from community outreaches, the foundation also organises programmes in orphanages, where they visit orphanage homes and administer eye care and treatment to the children there.
She also advised school teachers to inculcate eye health education in the children and prevent them from playing with sharp pointed objects such as pencils or sticks in order to prevent eye problems.
Wumi/NAN
