Deserving students to get free glasses during Deepavali

MELAKA: Two thousand deserving students from across the country will get free pairs of spectacles in conjunction with Deepavali.

Eyecon CEO Datuk Dr Murphy Chan Hian Kee said he chose this festive season to launch his charity programme to provide complimentary spectacles to dozens of students to improve reading and writing by tackling poor eyesight.

“This year, we choose Deepavali season to illuminate the hearts of the underprivileged students with clear vision and focus in classrooms,” said Chan..

“This programme will be continued annually during other festive seasons by giving away high quality spectacle frames and lenses,” he added when interviewed here on Monday (Oct 30).

Chan said the glasses will be handed out after eye tests which will be carried out at the chosen schools.

He said the programme will cover national-type and vernacular schools in three states initially, namely Selangor, Negri Sembilan and here before being expanded to other parts of the country.

“Our objective is to provide free eye care services and glasses to those schoolchildren who have missed such an opportunity due to their parents’ financial burden,” said Chan.

“I have decided to mark a symbolic launch of the programme in conjunction with Deepavali at two Tamil-type schools here,” he added.

Chan said that poor eyesight often affects student performance in schools, especially among the hardcore poor and rural communities.

He added that Eyecon will also continuously work with the local communities and school managements to help provide improved vision and promote eye health among schoolchildren.

Since 2010, Eyecon has ensured thousands of deserving and underprivileged communities to have better eye care and provide vision aids, reaching out to schools as well as orphanage homes and elderly folks.

The Eyecon team reaches out the schools in rural areas through a mobile vision vehicle, equipped with portable vision testing equipment to detect vision errors, binocular vision problems, colour vision and all kinds of eye diseases.