Gifting sights: 13-year-old ‘shed tears’ after receiving eyeglasses

Melisa Aganpoga Awuni, a 13-year-old basic seven learner at the Ganaa Memorial Basic School in Jirapa, has expressed mixed reactions after she received an eyeglass to aid her in participating actively in academic activities.'I used to be within the 1st to 5th positions in my class but because I cannot see well my position has been dropping. I am grateful for this spectacle because, with this, I will go back to my position,' little Melisa said while shedding tears.Though she was happy the eyeglasses would help improve her performance in class, she was not certain her father would allow her to wear the glasses.Melissa's teachers said she had been suffering from the eye condition for a long time, but her father would not allow her to use the sight aid for reasons known to him and all efforts to get him to rescind his decision had been unsuccessful.That was after Bliss Eye Care, a private eye clinic in Wa, presented eyeglasses to 15 school children in Jirapa after they were diagnosed with various eye con ditions that required them to use the sight aid.It was in partnership with Ghana Vision, a Swiss-based charitable organisation, under the Blissful Sight for Kids (BS4Ks) project.The BS4Ks project had, since its inception in 2015, impacted thousands of children in the Upper West Region and beyond through free eye screenings, medications, surgeries, and eyeglasses, to help improve their academic work and active participation in society.The children expressed gratitude to Bliss Eye Care and its partner for the intervention as it would greatly impact their education and prayed that more children would also be relieved of similar challenges through the project.Dr Zakarea Al-Hassan Balure, an Optometrist and Manager of Bliss Eye Care, stressed the need for parents to take an interest in their children's eye care.Naa Dinaa Donglabong Ganaa III, the Paramount Chief of the Jirapa Traditional Area, acknowledged the importance of early detection of children's eye conditions for treatment and thanked Bliss Eye Care for the timely intervention.'It is better that they have been discovered early to have issues. I am sure this lens will correct their sight. Sight is everything and sight is very crucial, especially for these young ones,' he explained.Mr Huudu A. K Kunaateh, the Jirapa Municipal Director of Education, who received the eyeglasses on behalf of the children, appreciated the intervention and said it was a novelty in the municipality.He said although some parents were aware of their children's eye conditions but could not afford the cost of treatment and that the initiative by Bliss Eye Care was timely.Madam Florence Angsomwine, the Jirapa Municipal Director of Health Services, testified that her son suffered from poor eyesight, which nearly truncated his education but that his situation was salvaged through the use of eyeglasses.She, therefore, appealed to parents to assist their children who received the eyeglasses to use them properly and those whose children had eye problems to seek timely treat ment for them.Source: Ghana News Agency