An eye specialist, Dr. Derrick Mensah, has urged parents to take their children to the clinic for regular checkups to enable early detection and treatment of eye diseases. 

He noted that most eye-related diseases, especially glaucoma, can be easily treated when detected early and managed.

Dr. Mensah made the call during the “Vision for Life Charity Project,” a free eye screening and treatment exercise organised by Robert and Sons Optical Services for students and teachers at the Ledzokuku Municipal Education Directorate at Teshie as part of the company’s corporate social responsibility.

Out of the over 100 students screened at the event, many were diagnosed with glaucoma without knowing it.

“Majority of them have good eyes but some of them have difficulty seeing from afar while some have glaucoma and glaucoma becomes dangerous when it is not detected early or managed. I have referred them for further examination,” Dr. Mensah said.

He said glaucoma is very severe because it does not cause pain. However, it is one of the leading causes of blindness, hence the need for regular checkups for early detection and prevention.

Business Development Manager at the Robert and Sons, Daniel E K Osei, speaking at the event

Diagnoses

“With glaucoma, if they don’t do regular eye checkups, they will not know, and glaucoma is referred to as the ‘silent thief of sight’ so you will not feel any pain or headache but you will gradually be losing your vision,” he said.

“Many people are out there thinking that their eyes are perfect but when they reach about 30 to 40 years it will begin to take effect so that is why regular checkup is necessary. It is important that we embark on these kinds of outreaches to help identify children and adults with such conditions and help them,” he added.

Municipal Director of Education for Ledzokuku, Mrs Theresa Tetteh addressing the gathering

Visual impairment

Speaking at the event, Business Development Manager at Robert and Sons, Daniel E K Osei, noted that visual impairment is more than just a health problem; it has economic, educational, and public safety implications. Therefore, his outfit is dedicated to eliminating uncorrected refractive errors in the country.

“The Robert and Sons’ Vision for Life Project is geared towards eliminating poor vision and its lifelong consequences while providing underprivileged people the opportunity to live a better life through better sight,” Mr. Osei said.

He added that correcting vision improves a person’s quality of life and creates an important ripple effect benefiting families, communities, and society at large, as well as helping learning, creating jobs, increasing incomes, and rejuvenating local economies.

“Since vision is everyone’s basic human right, we aim to overcome the barriers that prevent children from seeing well and achieving their potential at school,” he said.

He urged individuals and institutions who shared the dream of his outfit to come on board to reach out to more underprivileged people and communities with challenges of vision.

Appreciation

For her part, the Municipal Director of Education for Ledzokuku, Mrs. Theresa Tetteh, expressed gratitude to the Board and management of Robert and Sons Optical Services for the kind gesture.

“Today we are really blessed. We are very much appreciative for this kind gesture. Had it not been for you, I don’t know what we would have done with our eyes but maintaining good sight is very important, especially as we are all learning.

I haven’t stopped learning and I know most of you are still learning and we need our good vision to keep on learning. So thank you to the organizers of this charity work,” she said.

Vision for Life Charity

The Vision for Life Charity Project was launched in 2021 to support sustainable vision programs comprising awareness creation, eye screening, and providing treatment, and glasses for both the young and the old living with poor vision at no cost to them.

The company has undertaken similar projects in the Ashanti Region, Eastern Region, and parts of the Greater Accra Region, with their next stop being the Volta Region.

The project was themed: “33 Years of Vision Care; Giving Hope and Future to Children with Special Needs.”

SOURCE: GraphicOnline