Teachers and pupils of Iganmode Junior Grammar School and Ijako Local Primary School in Ogun State were in a joyous mood penultimate weekend when they received free eye screening and glasses from the Region 6 of District 404-B1, Nigeria, International Association of Lions Club.
The club’s medical team screened the pupils for vision problems and ensured that they got help. Pupils with critical eye problems were referred to optometrists.
The gesture was part of the activities to celebrate the 2016/2017 District Governor Alhaji Waheed Kadiri’s visit to Region 6.
Besides, the club donated a two-unit modern toilet facility to St James Primary School in Ota, a 3.5KVA generating set to General Hospital in Ota, planted trees at Ota Local Government and distributed books and writing materials to school pupils of Ado/Odo-Ota and Ifo local governments and as well as inaugurated the newly renovated Gateway Bus-Stop.
Kadiri said the most common conditions among the pupils were eye allergies, refractive errors and glaucoma.
He said the screening was aimed at helping the pupils detect their eye problems early to prevent blindness, restore eyesight and improve their eye health. He noted that eye caring for many people was part of Lions’ humanitarian services.
He said school-age children might have an eye problem,and if untreated, could result in blindness, adding that such problems could be fixed, if they are detected early.
He said the club had made available medication and spectacles that pupils whose conditions required spectacles and those with critical conditions had been referred to optometric hospitals.
Kadiri urged the public to take good care of their sight, saying eyes are the window to the body.
Alhaja Fatima Kadiri said the screening would enable the doctors to detect any optical challenges among pupils, adding that if such problems were detected early, they would be easily treated.
She said the majority of the pupils with eye problems did not have time to discuss it with their parents before it became worst, saying some parents might have no financial muscle to treat it even if the children told them.
Alhaja Kadiri said Lions Club International mandated the screening as one of its agenda of for the year.
She appealed to parents to study their wards to detect the ailment and treat it before it escalated.
