By Philip Tengzu
Lawra, (UW/R), March 22, GNA – Bliss Eye Care, a private eye clinic in Wa through its Blissful Sight for Kids (BS4Ks) project has provided free eye care services to school children in Lawra and its surrounding communities, to improve their academic performances.
The project was in partnership with GhanaVision, a Swiss based philanthropic organisation and the Lawra Municipal Education Directorate.
Ms Prudence Mwinikpeong, a second-year student of Eremon Senior High Technical School, like many others, was diagnosed with refractive error and was provided with a reading glass.
She shared her story with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on the difficulties she faced with reading class exercises and copying notes from the marker board because of her poor eyesight.
Ms Mwinikpeong said she often sought the assistance of her colleagues during class exercises to read out the questions to her, otherwise she had to move her seat very close to the board in front of the class or sometimes wait to copy notes from other classmates after school closes.
She expressed joy after she could read with the aid of the eyeglasses, saying it would improve her academic work.
Again, seven-year-old Lateef Anfaana from Hamile in the Lambussie District who had congenital cataract from birth benefited from the service by securing a reading glass to aid his vision.
Madam Memuna Anfaana, the boy’s mother, told the GNA that although her son had undergone a surgery at St. Theresa’s Hospital in Nandom to remove the cataract, he still needed a contact lens for further correction, but she couldn’t raise GH¢1,500.00 to acquire the eyeglasses for him.
Hundreds of school children in the Upper West Region and beyond had benefited from the BS4Ks project to enable them to participate actively in academic activities.
Dr Zakarea Al-Hassan Balure, the Manager of Bliss Eye Care, said 285 school children went through the screening process in Lawra, with 227 of them having pathological issues and were given medications.
However, 19 children received eyeglasses for refractive errors, while 25 others had Cataracts and Glaucoma, with only 14 having normal eyes.
Dr Balure said the high number of children who were diagnosed with various eye conditions in Lawra should be a concern for urgent action to be taken by parents and stakeholders to “avert the possibility of having a blind generation in future”.
Mr Martin Gangmur, the In-charge of the Eye Unit of the St. Theresa’s Hospital, appealed to pregnant women to take their antenatal care very seriously to ensure the healthy development of their unborn children.
He said the failure of some women to attend antenatal care led to the transfer of infections from mother to their unborn children which could affect the child’s vision.
Mr Gangmur made the appeal in relation to little Lateef who was born with Congenital Cataracts, which nearly caused him to go blind.
Mr Pius Kpankpari, the In-charge of the Eye Unit at the Lawra Municipal Hospital, explained that Cataracts, Glaucoma and Refractive Errors were some of the cases they received at the Unit daily.
He said most children also visiting the facility were diagnosed with vernal conjunctivitis which mostly affected children during the dry season due to some reactions between the environment and the eye.
He said Glaucoma could cause children to lose their sight if not treated before age eight and encouraged parents to take advantage of eye screenings and regularly visit the hospital to check their children’s eyes.
Meanwhile, Mr David Kuunder, the Lawra Municipal School Health Education Programme (SHEP) Coordinator, reiterated the importance of regular eye screening for school children to help enhance their education.
GNA