The Lions Club of Grand Cayman will be returning to local schools to resume free sight screenings starting 26 Oct. after a hiatus due to COVID-19.
The club, in a statement to mark World Sight Day on Thursday, made the announcement.
Colleen Burke, the club’s sight committee co-chair, said, in the statement, “We will focus on screening Grades 1 & 2 also Grades 7 & 8 in our effort to ensure that no child is missed.”
The Lions were unable to conduct the free screenings in local schools due to health protocols during the COVID-19 pandemic.
World Sight Day (WSD) is an annual day of awareness held on the second Thursday of October, to focus global attention on blindness and vision impairment.
“With the World Health Organization reporting that 1 billion people live with vision impairment that could have been prevented or can be corrected, the importance of vision care cannot be overstated,” the club said.
Vision is one of the Lions’ global causes and the Lions Club of Grand Cayman has a number of projects focusing on eye health and vision care.
As the Club marks its 50th anniversary, the sight committee co-chair, Johann Moxam harkened back to the organisation’s legacy of service.
“Since 1988, Lions World Sight Day has raised awareness about the importance of eye health and the need for quality eye care services for all. On this special day of service, Lions clubs around the world conduct sight-related projects including: vision screenings, eyeglass donations, restorative surgeries, eye health education programs, and the donation of assistive devices to those with vision impairment,” he said.
This year the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IABP) has decided to continue using the slogan “#LoveYourEyes” for World Sight Day 2022.
Moxam said the ‘Love Your Eyes’ campaign “urges people to put their personal eye health first while fighting for globally accessible, reasonably priced, and readily available eye care”.
Established in 1974, the Club’s annual sight screening programme “aims to strengthen eye care systems in our communities, through our annual all-Island school sigh screening programme,” according to the statement.
The club continues to collect and recycle eyeglasses.
It added that sight preservation efforts are year-round, but World Sight Day brings awareness to Lions projects such as:
- Assisting children with glasses
- Assisting with eye Examinations and operations
- And supporting the eye clinic
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