Optometry Giving Sight’s support of Ver Bien in Mexico has helped many school children receive the eye care they desperately need. Approximately 12% of public school children in Mexico suffer from a refractive error which can be corrected with glasses.
Many of these children have no access to eye health services because they live in rural communities in Mexico. Even when services are brought to their towns, families often don’t have the resources to pay for them. Ver Bien goes directly to public schools with optometrists who perform eye exams to check for diseases and refractive errors. When glasses are required, they are delivered at no cost.
Claudia (pictured below) was one of the students helped through Optometry Giving Sight’s support of Ver Bien.
Claudia’s life with poor vision was very challenging. Seeing her school work was difficult and she was often afraid when walking the 3 kms along the river to school.
The day she received a pair of glasses through the program, everything in her life changed:
Today is the day Claudia has anticipated for many months. She is so happy that she cannot stop smiling. Today is the day she can actually see the school board and the writing that used to be invisible. Today is the day she received her first ever pair of glasses.
A few months ago Claudia’s school was invited to participate in a school screening program implemented by Ver Bien and funded by Optometry Giving Sight.
Having a comprehensive eye examination and the correctly prescribed glasses is helping Claudia greatly improve the quality of her life. She feels so excited that it’s hard to sit still in class. Her teacher noticed the difference in Claudia’s behavior and feels happy for her student’s new clear-sighted joy. Its only 1pm and over two hours before school ends but Claudia is keen to make the journey home to show her grandmother her new glasses. She explains to her teacher how happy she thinks her grandmother will be.
“Walking home from school will be easy now,” Claudia said happily. “I can see all my friends’ faces now. I won’t be scared of falling in the river because I cannot see where the path goes. I feel part of my own life again. Maybe now I can learn sports and catch the balls I couldn’t see before!”
Please support the World Sight Day Challenge to help more children like Claudia.