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Students receive glasses |30 May 2017

It was a good day for many Seychellois children yesterday as Lions Club of Seychelles did the final distribution of new sets of eye glasses to students from seven schools.

This brings to 1,650 the number of Seychellois students who have received such a donation at a total cost of R3.3 million.

This last donation was made in the presence of Education and Human Resources Development Minister Joël Morgan, Health Minister Jean-Paul Adam, Aruna Oswal, director of Lions International, Jiza Munir Chaudri, district governor, Ramu Pillay, Lions club president and the project coordinator Siva Pillay.

Minister Morgan, who is also a Lions member, acknowledged the good gesture made by the Lions Club.

“It is indeed a pleasure to be part of today’s ceremony of presentation of this last batch of glasses to our school children. The project that we are honouring today started in October 2015 and it aims at facilitating eye screening for all the students in public schools of Seychelles from crèche to secondary five and to ensure that all eye defects are addressed in good time. Students who were diagnosed with vision problems were given glasses and this was done in phases. If we take a little time to reflect, we will realise what a mammoth task this project entailed and I therefore commend the Lions Club of Paradise Seychelles for this brilliant initiative. On behalf of the government of Seychelles and the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development I would like to extend my sincere gratitude and appreciation to Lions Club for this donation. I am sure such a project has brought a huge relief on parents, has made a positive difference in the lives of those children and has resulted in a lot of pride for Lions Club,” said Minister Morgan.

Addressing the students, Minister Morgan added that “sight and vision are important because they allow us to connect with our surroundings, keep us safe, and help maintain the sharpness of our minds.”

“School age children with an eye problem that is left untreated could result in permanent vision loss. The project has allowed for such problems to be detected early enough and treated correctly.  I am sure that students have taken full advantage of this opportunity so as to remove all possible impediments to learning. There should be no barrier to learning, and our vision is an essential key to the learning process. I am emphasising on this, dear students, to show you the value of the donation that we are witnessing today. Therefore, students, parents, teachers and all of us we need to applaud Lions Club for their generous contribution to our community. I urge all children to take good care of their glasses and to wear them with caution,” noted the minister.

Siva Pillay, coordinator of the programme, stated that “students from 22 schools, some 20,000, including those from Praslin and La Digue, were screened and we did not expect to diagnose so many students in need of glasses. 8.2% of students needed eye care. Agarwal Eye Hospital with the support of Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, Lions International and Lions of District 411A conducted the screening. Our DG, Ms Jiza Chaudri, played a major role in getting the final batch to be delivered to the students. Once we Lions make a promise, it will not be left out under any circumstances. This project has helped Seychelles not only on humanitarian grounds and helping the needy, but also on economic ground. A financial burden has been removed on many families as today’s average cost of each pair of glasses is R2,000. Even if the project has been completed, with the support of director Aruna Oswald we can start another screening if need be.”

As for Aruna Oswal, director of Lions International, she congratulated the Lions Club of Seychelles and said “the Lions in Seychelles have given hope to the people of Seychelles.”

“I am very confident that there are so many things we can do to keep the spirit going. I urge the children to please make the best use of the glasses and become good children. You have to make your history a victory. Lions in Seychelles are small in numbers but big in their work. Without the good working relationship with the government officials, we will not have been able to perform at this level,” she added.

District governor Jiza Munir Chaudri gave a summary of the activities of Lions Clubs around the world.

“We are the largest service club in the world regrouping 1.4 million members. We are proud to be called leaders in social service. From June 1-10, the international club is waiving the entrance fee of US $30 so that more people can join our movement,” she said.

She also talked about the eye hospital in India doing surgeries to replace the cornea.

“During the last six months, 2,000 cornea transplants were done and people from Seychelles can apply to do such a surgery,” concluded Ms Chaudri.

Audrey Esparon from Plaisance secondary school thanked the club on behalf of all Seychellois children.

 

 

 

 

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