Keeping an eye on the sight of youngsters
Last week 40 pairs of spectacles found their way to Batticaloa and Kegalle from Colombo, for several youngsters suffering from eye problems. It was just the early steps in what they hope will be a colossal project for the Sri Lanka Girl Guides Association (SLGGA) along with the Sri Lankan Women’s Association of Belgium (SLWAB) – helping children suffering from childhood blindness.
This venture is an extension of their successful “Nethraloka” project which from its initiation in 2009 worked toward bettering eye healthcare in post -war Sri Lanka. “We were the first civil organis- ation allowed access to IDPs,” recalls Dini Amaratunga, a member of the Social and Community Development Sub-committee of SLGGA.
Catching them young: The school screening
The Nethraloka project has helped over 1000 patients in need of cataract surgery. This time around their focus is on the children. “This project is assisting schoolchildren in need of spectacles from all nine provinces,” outlines Dini.
A part of a much bigger plan, the SLGGA is an active partner of the Vision 2020; a programme aimed at eradicating avoidable blindness launched jointly by the World Health Organisation and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness. Launched in 1997 the programme was begun in Sri Lanka in 2007 under the Ministry of Health.
Dr. Ahmed from the Health Ministry who has been working with the Guides, observed that many people who required glasses, especially those outside of urban areas were mostly unaware of their condition. “Most parents and grandparents are not always for spectacles,” he explained, as most refuse to accept that their young ones may be suffering from weak eyesight in childhood. It is why routine checkups have been ordained for schoolchildren in Grades 1, 4 and 7; during their developing stages and after most have sat their scholarship examinations.
“We train the teachers to go back and perform check-ups on the children so that the process is a consistent one,” Dr. Ahmed adds.
“We wanted to have a positive impact on a life, for life,” adds Dini, explaining why they chose eyesight as their focal point – wanting to create a permanent change that could positively alter a child’s life.
| Seven but mighty- the Belgian connection
Seated upstairs in the Girl Guides Headquarters, the round table of the conference room is abuzz with energy and activity as the committee  Long term vision: Dr. Asela Wijedeera, Dr. Ahmed and Shamani Jacob members and doctors involved discuss their progress fresh from their latest visit to children in Batticaloa. Shamani Jacob is all smiles as she walks in. “She’s the livewire” someone points out, introducing her around. Here for what is around the 53rd project,  Marlene Dissanayake Shamani is president of the Sri Lanka Women’s Association of Belgium (SLWAB), lending a quiet helping hand to SLGGA over the past 24 years with various projects. “Small but mighty”, is how Shamani describes the seven member Association which has supported many of the SLGGA’s projects for almost quarter of a century. Under the initial leadership of former Chief Commissioner of Girl Guides Marlene Dissanayake, the organisation is now spearheaded by Shamani. Linking the two groups now is Marlene, having been involved with the SLGGA since she became a Girl Guide aged just eight, who says the the long standing friendship between the two groups is due to their dedication and commitment. “The unity we had is still there.” Shamani never thought their club would come this far. She remembers their first charity dinner, one that would go on to be a longstanding tradition. Catering for around 150 people, Shamani and Marlene laugh, recollecting the immense pots of food and frozen curry they would literally chisel out due to the cold weather in order to feed their guests on time, with only five other ladies to help them. The Association has come a long way since, from raising around 250 000 euros for tsunami victims to carrying out their current project; caring for the vision of children around the island. |