First Lady, Optique team up to provide screening, eye examination for orphans

Orphans at Bless the Children’s Home in Georgetown on Saturday benefitted from eye care screening and examination through a project executed by the Office of the First Lady in partnership with Optique Vision Care.
That orphanage is one that currently benefits from the First Lady’s Adopt-an-Orphanage initiative which was launched last year. That project provides a direct link between underfunded orphanages and corporate partners who provide financial and other resources to the homes for six months to a year.

The second round of the Adopt-an-Orphanage initiative will be launched next month, and will be expanded to include services and activities which offer personal care and attention to the children in those homes.
Ahead of the launch of that initiative, First Lady Arya Ali met with a team from Optique recently where an agreement was reached to have vision screening and eye examination done for the 21 children at the home.
On Saturday, at its MovieTowne location, Optique screened and tested 16 of those children – nine of which will be given spectacles shortly, at no cost to them. The remaining seven children did not require spectacles. Three children were referred to the ophthalmologist, and five are scheduled to return for further examination on Wednesday.
“Ensuring we provide adequate medical attention to these children is very important because of the simple fact that it is often overlooked. The administration of some of these orphanages already face difficulties in managing them, and when people think of the needs of orphanages, they generally think food and clothing, and not necessarily medical or educational needs,” Ali related.

The First Lady further added that these kinds of services and activities will be extended to all registered orphanages as time progresses.
“This is only the beginning of what we hope will be a massive project. We have already started providing financial support to these homes through corporate sponsors, and now we are adding services which are essential to ensuring our children have a high quality of life,” the First Lady said.

Meanwhile, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Optique Vision Care, Dhani Narine expressed how appreciative he was of the opportunity to work on this project and improve the lives of children. “We have a strong CSR [corporate social responsibility] arm which we view as integral to the success of any business and the development of any nation.
So, we are beyond thrilled to be able to support the improvement of the lives of Guyana’s children,” Narine shared. Upon completion of their eye examination, the children were given a surprise by little Madison Narine – the daughter of Dhani and his wife Madonna.
They each received a personalised hand painting which little Madison spent hours preparing the night before. “I was very happy to do this for the children because I want to put a smile on their faces and I want them to know I care about them,” little Madison said.