Walk for World Sight Day on Sunday

The theme this year is “Eye Care For All – Stronger Together” as The World Health Organisation Global Action Plan 2014 – 2019 seeks by 2020 to reduce avoidable blindness and visual impairment by 25 percent.

A week of local activities is planned by ophthalmologist, Dr Desiree Murray and her Volunteers For World Sight Day Team (VFWST ), Del Phillips (secretary) and Tayab Razac (treasurer): The 11th annual Walk For Sight at the Queen’s Park Savannah, take place on Sunday, starting opposite Stanmore Avenue, with on-site registration at 6 am. Online registration can be done through www.worldsightdayTT .org.

A donation of $20.20 is requested which gives the participant one shirt, refreshments and vision and screening.

On World Sight Day – October 13, interested persons are invited to a free public symposium on eye health, from 1 pm - 6 pm, in Amphitheatre B of the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex.

On-site registration takes place from noon to 1 pm on the day. The theme for the symposium is “The integrated eye care team – protecting our nation’s sight” where the aim is to emphasise the multidisciplinary approach to eye care and blindness prevention (primary, secondary and tertiary), thereby raising public awareness.

And a most innovative formal affaire, “D?ner dans le noir” (Dinner in the dark), being introduced this year, is scheduled to take place on October 15 at Jaffa in the Oval, Tragarete Road, Portof- Spain.

Says Dr Murray, “We are increasing our efforts in order to spread the message even further. This is a gala dinner and celebrity charity auction, with live entertainment, during which meals will be served in an ambience of reduced lighting, to encourage sighted persons to empathise with persons who ‘live their lives in the dark’ because of visual impairment and blindness.” The Volunteers For World Sight Day Team says, “80 percent of blindness is avoidable, being either preventable or treatable. In addition to improving quality of life, blindness prevention is extremely cost-effective. “ For more info about VFWST including highlights of prior local World Sight Day events visit www.worldsightdaytt.

org.

Additional information can be obtained by visiting the international Vision 2020 website, www.vision2020.org.