Campaign to donate used glasses for rural population

KOTA KINABALU: Help rural Sabah to see better through the Mercy Malaysia Sabah Chapter’s pioneering #LoseTheGlasses campaign with Gleneagles Kota Kinabalu Hospital (GHKK).

Its chairperson, Dr Anbarasu Ramalingam, said the public could drop their unwanted glasses in the donation box at GHKK instead of throwing them away into dustbins.

He added these spectacles will be refurbished, looked through by optometrists and adjusted according to the power needed before being dispersed to the deep rural population.

“This will literally help someone see better in the village because every time we screen them, we don’t have the modality to get the spectacles and send it over to them,” said Dr Anbarasu.

“So rather than the villagers having to deal with it everyday, it could probably help them to see better,” he added at the GKKH Lasik Centre and Mercy Malaysia Sabah Chapter #LoseTheGlasses Campaign launch here yesterday.

Dr Anbarasu said Mercy Malaysia Sabah Chapter performs basic medical screenings, organizes water projects, alcohol intervention, and other various projects.

“We are looking into the direction of intensifying what we are doing. We would like to offer more to the population of deep rural Sabah. As we all know, they deserve more. I think this is where Gleneagles comes in to help us out with this pioneering effort,” he said.

“We probably have over 15 villages that we frequent on a routine basis. So once the data is there then we will disperse according to the needs of the villages,” he added.

GHKK’s optometrist will assess the power attrition of and tag the donated spectacles before they are distributed to Mercy Malaysia’s medical camps in remote villages.

The donation box is placed in the lobby of the hospital and more boxes will be set in other locations according to the demand.

For further information, contact the GKKH Eye diagnostic centre at +6088-518 888 or the Sales and Marketing Department at +6088518 880.