Council for the Blind Launches School Eye Screening Programme

Council launches first school eye screening programme.

The South African National Council for the Blind has stood for the full rights and inclusion of visually impaired South Africans for over 85 years. Our eye care division- the Bureau for the Prevention of Blindness (est. 1944) have worked hard to prevent blindness over the years through our flagship community eye care programme which provides free screening, referrals and cataract sight restoring operations - mostly to the elderly population in rural communities.

A new step! Over 250 pre & primary school children receive free eye screening in Tembisa

Last week the Bureau took a new step and together with our Funder Loccitane Foundation, we successfully launched the first School Eye Screening Programme at Nokuphila Pre and Primary Schools in Tembisa. Over 250 children were screened between Monday 8 and Thursday 11 February. Most of the children were treated for minor ailments due to allergies, with a few cases for referrals identified, and over 20 prescribed spectacles were dispensed on Friday 12 February.

A pro-active approachChildren are our future, yet the learning challenges due to poor vision are one of the many difficulties our children face in schools. Through this school screening project, we are proudly taking a pro-active approach by detecting and addressing vision problems early on. This is especially critical for children who accomplish 80% of all their learning through sight.

Skills transfer

In addition, we have transferred skills to the staff of the Nokuphila Primary School who will now be able to detect vision problems amongst children, and refer them to local health facilities when required. 

The following are some of the warnings to detect early vision challenges amongst children:

• Loses their place while reading•Holds reading material closer than normal•Tends to rub his or her eyes•Has headaches•Turns or tilts head to use one eye only•Uses finger to maintain place when reading•Omits or confuses small words when reading•Consistently performs below potential  

About us:

The South African National Council for the Blind was established in 1929, and through a network of over 100 member organisations, serves, supports and facilitates the prevention of blindness, rehabilitation, community development, training and education of South Africans with visual impairments.

The emphasis laid on the prevention of blindness led to the establishment of the Bureau for the Prevention of Blindness in 1944. Since then the Council has grown exponentially – adding education and rehabilitation (1985), a centre making assistive devices (1986) as well as entrepreneurial development and support (1991) to its list of services. 

Read more about us at: http://www.sancb.org.za 

Contact:   Nishen Naicker:Fundraising & Public Relations Manager

T. +27 (0)12 452 3811 |  D. +27 (0)12 452 3824 | C. +27(0) 73 54 98718