ROTARY SAVE A CHILD’S EYES PROJECT
In 2018 the Rotary Club of Pattaya began a Rotary Dream Box project whereby students could write down their dreams and several businesses would help financially to make these a reality. The club was shocked when over 800 students requested what most of us would consider as needs not wants. Requests for shoes, uniforms, stationary and glasses began to flood in, with 73 students requesting glasses in the first 2 months of the project.
In 2019 we already have 72 children requesting glasses and we still have another 6 local Thai school yet to assess the needs. The process involves asking the students and teachers to identify those who potentially need glasses. These children are then given a preliminary eye test using a simple eye chart by the Hand to Hand Foundation. These results are then passed onto Dr. Bu from Pattaya Optical who assesses which students need further examination. These children receive letters requesting their parents to take them to the Pattaya Optical shop where a thorough examination is done by fully trained optometrists. Those students who would benefit from glasses are then placed on a list of needy students which is considered by the ‘Save A Child’s Eyes’ project. Each pair costs 700 baht which is approximately ¼ of the cost of the glasses.
An evening of food, fun and entertainment was held at the Loft Pub in January where over 100 000 baht was raised to purchase glasses through the ‘Save a Child’s Eyes’ project. If you would like to know more about the project or contribute please contact Margie at handtohandpattaya@yahoo.com.