Over the past two months the children from three farm schools in Durbanville underwent visual screenings be staff of the Jonga Trust in association with the Rotary Club of Durbanville.

During the course of the program 1148 children from Joostenberg, Kersboslaagte and Alpha schools were screened for possible eye problems. Out of the children screened, 46 of them required glasses and one child was referred for cataract removal.

The screening, eye testing and fitment of the glasses was done by the professional personnel from the Jonga Trust. Each child that needed glasses was able to select a frame of their choice and dispensed with glasses accordingly. These children will now be monitored to see if there is an improvement in their academic performance. Teachers at the schools will receive training from Jonga in order to better identify children with eye problems.

This initiative was launched by the Jonga Trust in the Western Cape in association with the Rotarians from the Rotary Club of Durbanville. All testing, referrals and the supply of glasses to the children was done free of charge and done at the various schools, as these children do not have the means, transport and resources to visit an optometrist.  Often the children and/or parents do not realise the child has visual abnormalities and this may hamper their learning ability.

The Jonga Trust and Rotary Club of Durbanville are reliant on sponsorships and fund raising to enable them to provide these services to the community. This will be an ongoing project between Jonga, Rotary Club Durbanville and the Farm schools in our district, providing the funds and sponsorships are available.