Vodafone Fiji Foundation continues to support the initiatives of the Lions Club of Ba for their Sigh First through their $15,000 grant.
“Our partnership with the club started in 2009 to support the Sight First initiative. The Lions Club of Ba has been actively involved in the Sight First project which aims to prevent avoidable blindness in the western corridor said Ambalika Devi, Vodafone Fiji Foundation Executive”.
“We are proud to be associated with the Sight First project in light of the positive impact it has been making in the lives of the people, said Ms. Devi”.
We have conducted the Sight first project at Karavi Public School in Ba to start off the initiative for this year said Club President Nitya Prakash. The club conducts screening, provides eye glasses and also does cataract operations. Over 1000 people have been screened annually and treated to avoid possible blindness. The project is extended to communities in the Western division covering Ba, Tavua and Rakiraki.
The club had successfully screened 3000 individuals from 2009 to 2012 and 1,000 in 2013 of which 120 have been operated on by Pacific Eye Institute for corrective measures. 500 needy individuals were issued corrective eye glasses as well in 2013.
“We are indebted to Vodafone Fiji Foundation for their timely support through the grant of $15,000 annually. The Foundation remains the sole funder of our Sight First initiative. It is only because of their kind support that our club has managed to further our project in assisting the needy in avoiding possible blindness, said Mr. Prakash”.
Our partnership with the Foundation has seen some 300 cataracts and laser operations being successfully performed, more than 1000 eye glasses being distributed to restore vision and $1,000 worth of medication given out to patients. Partnering with Vodafone Fiji Foundation, we will continue to conduct more screenings, operations and distribution of eyeglasses for Sight First projects throughout the year, said Prakash.
PRESS RELEASE