MINGS Optical, the local optometry company located in Kingston, Georgetown on Wednesday completed the final phase of their world sight day programme for young persons.

The company teamed up with the Durban Park Lions for the initiative. The final phase, which featured the handing out of several pairs of spectacles to students of various schools, is part of their month-long activity to coincide with world sight day.

The two entities which share a 16-year relationship were responsible for the screening and subsequent donation of spectacles to students from several different schools in the city.
This year, students from Smith’s Memorial Primary, St. Pius Primary, Enterprise Primary, Tucville Primary, St. Thomas Moore Primary, South Ruimveldt Primary, and St. Sidwell’s Primary, benefited.

Hundreds of children were screened and the children with vision defects were identified and given comprehensive eye examinations free of charge during the month of November by the optometrists at Ming’s Optical in Georgetown.
Speaking about the initiative, Dr. Michelle Ming said the idea is to always ensure optimal optical health among children as it can be a major hindrance to them accessing quality education. “I know the importance of having your eyes checked frequently.

If you need glasses and don’t have it, then it can make school frustrating. You can’t see what’s on the board because it’s not clear or you get a headache from not wearing glasses.”

She noted that the screening is held every year to coincide with World Sight Day which is usually observed on the second Thursday in the month of October.
Some of the parents who were present took the opportunity to find out what were the varying reasons for their children having to wear spectacles.
Dr. Ming was eager to explain the ‘do’s and ‘don’ts of wearing a pair of spectacles to the students, which included cleaning and care when handling.

Meanwhile, Durban Park Lions representative, Marcia Edwards expressed gratitude for the support they were given towards making the project a success. “We see this as giving back to the communities, especially the children. Sight and learning is important for them (the children) and World Sight Day gives us that opportunity.”

World Sight Day is an annual day of awareness held to focus global attention on blindness and vision impairment. This year’s call to action for World Sight Day was “Eye Care Everywhere.” Strategies were geared at finding solutions to ensure that everyone everywhere has access to sight.

This year WSD was observed on the 12th October where the Lions Club of Durban Park hosted their annual eye screening activity at seven schools around Georgetown. The spectacles were done in collaboration with the Lion’s Club of Durban Park and were handed over to the children