| | | | 2024 World Sight Day in Cambodia | | | | |
In celebration of World Sight Day 2024, Heart to Heart Foundation Cambodia officie conducted Eye screening for elementary school students on September 17th, 2024. World Sight Day 2024 focuses on the world’s attention on the importance of eye care in young people and inspiring children everywhere to love their eyes.
The Eye screening was conducted on 209 students with 1st, 5th, 6th grade from Kdol-Ta-Hen Elementary School in Battambang province. Through this Eye screening, Heart to Heart Foundation provided students with the opportunity to learn their own eye health and prevent blindness by receiving dnecessary test or treatment in a timely manner. Also, students were educated on what symptoms they may experience if they hanve an eye problem and where they can go to receive treatment, additional tests, and help if a problem occurs.
Eye Helath education in progress / Elementary school students taking a vision test
Heart to Heart Foundation asked for interview to two Ophthalmologists Dr.Sokheang and Dr.Sungheng who participated in Eye screening.
Dr. Sokheang during screening / Dr. Sungheng during screening
Q. Please tell us about your experience about Today’s Eye screening. Dr. Sokheang: I gladly accpeted Elementary Eye Screening, because the Heart to Heart Foundation and I has had a long and good relationship since its Ophthalomoloty project in Siem-reap. And, I participated as a Doctor this screening because it is very important to detect students who needed Eye treatment early. Fortunately, most of students were found to be normal, and only a few number of students needed to additional medical care and treatment. I was pleased to provide the students with the opportunity to receive timely testing and treatment. Dr. Sungheng: Hello, I am Dr. Sungheng, Sokheang’s brother and Ophthalmologist. I believe that the vision is one of the very important factors in our lives, and through today’s screening, it was a good time for students to check their eye health and its condition. Without today’s eye screening, students with severe eye problems would have lost their sight in the future.
 children undergoing vision test / Children waiting for Eye screening
Q. What are your plans as an ophthalmologist in the future? Could you tell us about your vision? Dr. Sokheang: First of all, I would like to help as many patients as possible. Many people suffer from Cataracts, and when treated at the right time, they can effectively restore their vision. So I would like to help people in financial difficulties gets the tests and surgical treatment they need. We would like to help as many people as possible enjoy health and safety while making minimal profit. Dr. Sungheng: We usually meet a lot of elderly cataract patients who need surgery, but due to financial burden, most of them do not receive surgical treatment. So we are looking for a partner who can help with surgical and pharmaceutical treatment. We also hope to provide glasses to children and adolescents who have refractive errors and need correction, but cannot afford glasses due to financial difficulties. And it would be happy if we could provide necessary glasses and treatment through cooperation and support with institutions or optical shops.
 Through this Eye screening, 16 students out of 209 elementary school students were found to be in need of additional medical care or treatment. In these cases, the principal and guardian were present to provide explanations on the student's condition and additional necessary medical treatment.
It would be grateful for supporting Cambodian children so that they can value their eyes more than anyone eles and keep their eyes healthy thorugh this screening!
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