Group Sponsors Free Eye Treatment For 115 Abuja Children

No fewer than 115 children on Thursday benefitted from free eye care organized by the Public Health Department, Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), in Abuja.

The outreach was sponsored by CBM Global Disability Inclusion in collaboration with Women and Girls with Albinism Network. The exercise was to commemorate the 2024 World Sight that has “Love Your Eyes Kids’’ as its theme.

Among the beneficiaries were students from Junior Secondary School, Gbazango, Kubwa and Government Secondary School, Kubwa II, with many of them commending the organizers for making them to see clearly and better.
Miss Rejoice Chinonso, a 12-year-old student living with albinism told NAN that it had not been easy for her.

“Sometimes, I don’t see the board or my teacher.
“I can see clearly now; I feel very happy. God will bless them; now my academic performance will improve.

“Weldone for giving the albinism children a chance to focus on their future,” she said.
Also reacting, Abubakar Usman, a junior secondary school student in Gbazango said he was not seeing very well.

“I couldn’t see my friends well, but now with the glasses, I can see clearly.’’
Zafanaya Gideon, also a beneficiary, thanked the organizers for the gesture, saying that the privilege of the eye check and glasses would be a game changer in his life.

“Thank you for my eyes, I can see very well now,” he said.
Musa Shuaibu, another student said, “I have not been seeing well, but now with the treatment and glasses, I can see everybody and I know my school work will improve.”
Some students who benefitted from the eye screening with the founder of Women and Girls with Albinism Network, during the outreach in Abuja.

Also speaking, Miss Rose Chukwuemeka, said that before she got the glasses, she could not see small letters.
“But now I can see everything with the help of the glasses,” she said.
Founder and Chief Executive Director of Women and Girls with Albinism Network, Constance Onyemaechi, in her remarks, said it was not easy growing up as a person with albinism.

Onyemaechi said that the outreach would impact and help a lot of children who were struggling with their eyesight to cope well in school, social life and also build their self-esteem.
“We decided to do this in commemoration of the World Sight Day; we have done the first phase, which is the eye screening.

“We are now on the second phase, which is refractive screening for children who were referred for refractive testing, especially children with albinism.
“The impact of this event is to ensure that every child gets proper health care services, especially when it comes to eye health,” she said.

The Program Manager of Eye Care Disease Program, Public Health Department, FCTA, Dr Garba Abdulrazaq, said that the theme for the year’s Eye Sight Day beamed the light on children, hence the concentration on them.
Abdulrazaq said that the organizations were able to provide free eye screening services for kids, teachers and parents.

“We also have free glasses for children that will be refracted after detection and will need glasses and also eye medications.
He further added that, “We have also been able to educate the children and the member of staff about reducing stigma amongst people that wear glasses.”

Abdulrazaq said that the project supported inclusiveness, ensuring that everybody was carried along, especially people with disabilities.
“This is why we also have students with albinism that are here today; it is very crucial to also educate students in the schools to let them know that people living with albinism are just like you and I,” he said