The Lions Club of Grand Cayman is joining the World Health Organization in celebrating World Sight Day 2022 in highlighting the importance of eye health.

With the WHO reporting that 1 billion people live with vision impairment that could have been prevented or can be corrected, the importance of vision care cannot be overstated.

Vision is one of the Lions global causes and here at the Lions Club of Grand Cayman we initiate a number of projects focused on eye health and vision care.

Established in 1974, our Annual Sight screening programme aims to strengthen eye care systems in our communities, through our annual all-Island school sigh screening programme. The sight preservation efforts are all year round, but the world sight day brings awareness to our many projects such as: 

• Assisting children with glasses
• Assisting with eye Examinations and operations
• And supporting the eye clinic

Co -chair Colleen Burke said, “Lions are champions for the blind but we are happy to be joining with the World Health Organization (WHO) and The International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) to bring awareness of the importance of eye health on this World Sight Day.”

As part of our commitment to better eye care in the Cayman Islands we continue to support the Lions Eye Clinic at the Health Services Authority providing much needed equipment and resources.

Lions World Sight Day is traditionally held in the month of October. 

This year the Lions Club of Grand Cayman will start our annual School Sight Screening on October 26th , 2022 where we will focus on screening Grades 1 & 2 also Grades 7 & 8 in our effort to ensure that no child is missed due to the absence of screening during the COVID-19 pandemic.

We also still continue to collect and recycle eyeglasses.

The following tips from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are aimed at helping to prevent vision loss:

Have a comprehensive dilated eye exam.

Maintain your blood sugar levels. 

Know your family’s eye health history. 

Eat right to protect your sight. 

Maintain a healthy weight. 

Wear protective eyewear. 

Quit smoking or never start.