Asian Eye Institute and SKY partnered to provide students with free eye checkups and prescription glasses through the Kislap Mata: Malinaw na Mata, Malinaw na Kinabukasan project. Students were also taught the importance of having healthy vision and having good eye care habits,so they can perform well in school, sports and in socializing among their peers.
Zacquia Chua and Cassandra Baral of Lagundi Elementary School were among those who’ve had difficulty reading and catching up in class due to poor vision. But through the Kislap Mata project, they updated their prescription and received new pairs of eyeglasses. Baral said, “Mas makakapag-aral na po akong mabuti kasi makakakita na po ako ng mas maigi. Salamat po sa SKY at Asian Eye.”
The beneficiaries of the project were from San Isidro Elementary School in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan, andSto. Tomas North Central School and Lagundi Elementary School in Morong, Rizal. A total of 575 students attended the lectures, 338 underwent eye checkups, and 108 received prescription glasses. There were also 23 students that were referred to EyeSite by Asian Eye Institute for further checkups and/or diagnostic tests. A part of the Asian Eye network of clinics, EyeSite is an eye center and optical shop found in four locations – St. Frances Cabrini Medical Center in Sto. Tomas, Batangas, SM City Batangas in Batangas City, SM City Dasmariñas in Cavite, and SM City Fairview in Quezon City.
Claire Rino, principal of Lagundi Elementary School, shared that the project would be very helpful for their students. “We feel privileged of the Kislap Mata project of SKY. Eyesight is very important for students. Without healthy eyes, they won’t be able to understand and read their lessons. Thank you very much to SKY and Asian Eye. Of all the schools in the Philippines, Morong got picked.”
According to Asian Eye Chief Operating Officer Alwin Sta. Rosa, this project is part of the institute’s goal to reach out to more Filipinos, especially children. “We’re happy that SKY partnered with us in the Kislap Mata project. Because most children don’t know what normal vision is and what isn’t, a lot of them don’t complain if they have blurry or double vision. But through this project, we’re able to help children have clear, healthy vision and at the same time, support the government’s initiative in diagnosing and addressing early childhood problems.”
Just recently, the National Vision Screening Program (NVSP) was signed into law. It requires kindergarten students to undergo vision screening to catch any eye problems early, develop a referral system for treatment, create a database that has the results of the screening per child and visual diagnoses by eye care practitioners, and conduct continuing research on the state of visual impairment.
More than just giving glasses, it’s also important for children to learn good eye care habits early. Sta. Rosa added, “It gave us an opportunity to teach children what it means to have healthy eyes. Kids are constantly exposed to technology, so it’s good practice for them to rest their eyes every 20 minutes of studying of playing on gadgets. It’s also an effective way to prevent eye fatigue that can lead to headaches. Another factor to consider is good hand hygiene to avoid eye irritation or infections like sore eyes.”
SKY Head of Marketing Gidgette Faustino shared SKYcable’s eagerness to help students, “We at SKY are grateful for the opportunity to help in any way we can, we envisioned ‘Kislap Mata’ project to help select students learn in their full capacity and more comfortably with clearer eyesight. We look forward to more learning advocacies that will help spearhead education in the country.”
