Watched by all his grade R and 1 classmates, teachers and sponsors, six-year-old Melokuhle Mhlanga’s eyes widened in delight as a brand new stylish pair of reading glasses were placed on his nose.
He smiled delightedly behind his mask as he was given the first of 10 pairs of prescription reading glasses that will make a huge difference as he learns his alphabet and begins to read.
“I promise to look after my spectacles,” said Minenhle Nkosi proudly. Like many of her classmates, she did not want to take them off – not even with the promise that they just needed to be adjusted.
Melokuhle and several other children in the two lower grades at Isipho Primary School in Dlamini, Soweto, were diagnosed with visual problems and sent for comprehensive tests at Vision Eyes.
Optometrist Jerry Chweneyagae, who carried out many of the tests, said many of the pupils had already been labelled as problem children simply because they were seated at the back of the class, could not see and lacked the words to explain their difficulties.
He said the children who received new reading glasses all had fairly serious eye problems and were in urgent need of prescription glasses. Another two children at the school – twin girls with extremely poor eyesight – would be receiving their spectacles at a later stage because theirs needed more expert work.
“These glasses were made specially for you. Nobody else may touch or use them. Do not let your sister or brother wear them. You must bring them to school every day and put them in your bag when you go out to play,” school principal Nokuthula Dabula told her young audience.
“And those of you who are not getting spectacles today, you must be very happy too because it means you have perfect eyes,” she reassured the rest of the kids.
And so one by one the 10 happy little recipients sat down for the final adjustments to their stylish, colourful frames.
“Gosh, I feel quite emotional,” said newly elected school governing board chairperson Jabulile Xaba as she watched the delighted children proudly wearing their reading glasses, many of them unwilling to take them off.
“This is such an exciting day. These children all needed spectacles, and that was probably never going to happen. We really appreciate it, because if you think of what the impact will be, it’s not just about vision,” she said, explaining that some of the children were extremely intelligent and would now be able to reach their full academic potential.
The project was sponsored by a partnership venture between Ster-Kinekor’s Vision Mission and Kaya FM’s Kaya 959.
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