Senior citizens get free prescription glasses |09 October 2021
A senior citizen tries on his new pair of glasses (Photo: Louis Toussaint)
Eight residents of the English River Home for the Elderly received their free prescription glasses yesterday through a tripartite collaboration between the NGO Lions of Seychelles, Optic Seychelles and the Mauritius Commercial Bank (MCB).
The donation at the home follows a series of free eye screenings spearheaded by Lions of Seychelles in various elderly homes across the country including Plaisance, La Retraite, English River and Pointe Larue which started in October last year.
To date, the Lions of Seychelles with the expert assistance from Optic Seychelles have screened 61 residents of which 33 residents have received glasses which have been sponsored by MCB.
Although the Lions of Seychelles have covered only 50% of elderly homes, the organisation is expecting to continue to conduct the screenings and provided free glasses to residents in homes that have yet to benefit from the initiative such as Anse Royale and the inner islands.
The donation at English River was attended by principal secretary for family affairs Clive Roucou, managing director of MCB Seychelles Bernard Jackson, English River DA Jancy Volcère, director for homes of the elderly Lisa Cadeau, Lions Club region chairperson Dr Sasikumar, and District 411A Officer and Lion for Vision and Sight for Kids in Region E, D.V Sharma.
In his address, Mr Sharma noted that the donation of the glasses would not have been possible without the assistance of key partners such as Optic Seychelles, MCB, Ministry of Health and the National Council for the Elderly.
He called on PS Roucou’s department of family affairs to continue facilitating the Lions’ access to the elderly homes so that they can bring eye screenings closer to the community.
On his part, Mr Jackson stated that it has been an honour for MCB to contribute to this initiative which is helping the elderly community across Seychelles.
On behalf of the residents, Ms Cadeau stated that the eye screenings and donations of glasses has been very much welcomed by the department of family affairs since Covid-19 has made it increasingly difficult to get doctor’s appointments to have their eyes checked, adding that glasses are often expensive as well.
The ceremony concluded with a group photo.
Elsie Pointe