The Lions and Leos of Zone 3B comprising the lions clubs of Gros Islet,
Castries, Micoud, Piton (Soufriere) and Vieux Fort together with the Leo Club
of Castries will again partner with the Saint Lucia Blind Welfare Association
in hosting the Kids In-Sight Teams from January 25 to February 7, 2015
The programme which began in 2003 is a joint collaboration by the Lions clubs of Saint Lucia and West Virginia and is headed by Rebecca Coakley, Director of the Children's Rehabilitation Project in West Virginia University Eye Institute and US Coordinator of the Kids Insight Programme; she is also the Coordinator of the Saint Lucia/West Virginia programme.
Kids In Sight is dedicated to helping children who would otherwise not been able to afford such services is partly funded by a grant from Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF) and funds raised by the local clubs from various fundraising activities for example, Lions Club of Castries Candle Light Dinner, Piton Lions Tea Party and the Gros Islet Lions Charity Golf Tournament. Through Kids the Blind Welfare Association provides access to free eye care to children inclusive of follow up services, medication, and glasses. Since 2003 thousands of children with serious eye problems in Saint. Lucia have benefitted from the Kids Insight Project.
The program benefits from the generosity of vacationing members of the Kids Insight team, who gave freely of their services while on holiday here in Saint Lucia. During this decade the ophthalmologists who make up the team have seen the number of youthful eye patients grow from a handful to about one hundred patients. The doctors, who are from West Virginia, sacrifice their annual vacation time to come to Saint Lucia to deal with the long waiting list of patients on the programme.
The programme has grown from a small group of kids requiring about six surgeries to about one hundred (100) eyes examinations every year. The Kids Insight team carries out corrective eye surgeries while children with low vision are also treated and given the tools they need to aid their sight. In addition they not only undertake medical intervention, but also vision rehabilitation. The kids who cannot be connected through medication or surgery if they are blind or visually impaired are started with rehabilitation by examining Braille, Optical devices, magnifiers and technology so that the children can function in the classroom and see like their sighted peers.
This year there are over one hundred and seventy (170) children waiting to see the Team. The lions clubs of Saint Lucia who play host to the team assist in record keeping, ushering, and keeping the kids occupied while they await their appointments.
The programme which began in 2003 is a joint collaboration by the Lions clubs of Saint Lucia and West Virginia and is headed by Rebecca Coakley, Director of the Children's Rehabilitation Project in West Virginia University Eye Institute and US Coordinator of the Kids Insight Programme; she is also the Coordinator of the Saint Lucia/West Virginia programme.
Kids In Sight is dedicated to helping children who would otherwise not been able to afford such services is partly funded by a grant from Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF) and funds raised by the local clubs from various fundraising activities for example, Lions Club of Castries Candle Light Dinner, Piton Lions Tea Party and the Gros Islet Lions Charity Golf Tournament. Through Kids the Blind Welfare Association provides access to free eye care to children inclusive of follow up services, medication, and glasses. Since 2003 thousands of children with serious eye problems in Saint. Lucia have benefitted from the Kids Insight Project.
The program benefits from the generosity of vacationing members of the Kids Insight team, who gave freely of their services while on holiday here in Saint Lucia. During this decade the ophthalmologists who make up the team have seen the number of youthful eye patients grow from a handful to about one hundred patients. The doctors, who are from West Virginia, sacrifice their annual vacation time to come to Saint Lucia to deal with the long waiting list of patients on the programme.
The programme has grown from a small group of kids requiring about six surgeries to about one hundred (100) eyes examinations every year. The Kids Insight team carries out corrective eye surgeries while children with low vision are also treated and given the tools they need to aid their sight. In addition they not only undertake medical intervention, but also vision rehabilitation. The kids who cannot be connected through medication or surgery if they are blind or visually impaired are started with rehabilitation by examining Braille, Optical devices, magnifiers and technology so that the children can function in the classroom and see like their sighted peers.
This year there are over one hundred and seventy (170) children waiting to see the Team. The lions clubs of Saint Lucia who play host to the team assist in record keeping, ushering, and keeping the kids occupied while they await their appointments.
The Lions of Saint Lucia would like to express their appreciation to the
Government of Saint Lucia (Ministry of Health), the many corporate institutions
and patrons who participate in their fund raising activities to make this
activity the continued success that it is
No comments:
Post a Comment