Vision Care to distribute 25,000 spectacles free to the needy to mark 25th anniversary
‘Vision Care’ one of the foremost vision enhancing corporates in Sri Lanka, though with small beginnings in 1992 is preparing for its 25th-year, Silver Jubilee anniversary – with a difference however.
To announce the event, Dasanka Fonseka, Chairman, Vision Care told reporters this week in Colombo that over the past 25 years they have enhanced the sight of hundreds of Sri Lankans.
Over the years they also have learnt that there are a lot of people who cannot afford to buy a pair of spectacles though their vision is poor. Thus without hold a grand silver jubilee celebration, the company has decided to donate 25,000 spectacles – ‘Nethralokana Sathkara’ – among the deserving people from different parts of Sri Lanka, free of charge.
It is also a part of their contribution to the Government’s attempts to eliminate avoidable blindness from Sri Lanka by the year 2020.
Enlightening on this Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) project, he said that they have been the pioneers in introducing quality and affordable eye care solutions utilizing most modern technologies and with Nethralokana Sathkara they wanted to mark this occasion of ‘Silver Jubilee’ by reaching out to deserving people in this country and help empower their lives through what they do best to enhance vision.
The programme of issuing free spectacles would be rolled out in six major cities – Galle, Kandy, Kurunegala, Jaffna, Anuradhapura and Colombo. In parallel to the programmes in the regional cities, Vision Care branches around these main cities would also roll out programmes of their own, to strengthen the project’s island-wide reach and distribution.
The initial phase of the programme will be the calling of applications which will be followed by a comprehensive eye test. Based on the tests conducted by qualified optometrists of Vision Care, a reading or a prescribed spectacle will be given to the applicant at the final distribution.
Harsha Maduranga, GM, Vision Care said that this act of ‘community service’ has to be with no hiccups to ensure a fair basis of distribution. Thus to be transparent and to ensure that these spectacles are received by the most deserving people, the basis of giving applications is on a recommendation of the Grama Niladhari on the recipient’s income to ensure that the poorest segments of society benefit.