End to poor Eyesight
Learners given their sight back
Pono Yame project, a collaboration of the Ministries of Education and Skills Development and of Health and Wellness has given learners with eyesight problems a second chance.
Through the project, learners in primary and senior secondary schools undergo eye examinations, and appropriate interventions are implemented, including surgery or medication.
Ministry of Education Minister, Dr. Douglas Letsholathebe said the project will run for three years during which they will assess all learners. This will hopefully bring positive change to the learners’ lives, as well as their families.
There has been an increase in cases where children have eyesight problems in Botswana, a challenge that can be detrimental to the future of the nation. Letsholathebe said many futures are destroyed because learners could not see what they were being taught but all of that is changing as the partnership they have between the two ministries will ensure that government provides quality education to all.
CEO of Peek Vision, the NGO that is helping to test all learners countrywide, Andrew Bastawrous explained that he too had a poor eyesight challenge as a learner which made him perform badly at school. He said because that was ratified while he was in primary school he has been able to reach great heights in his life because of the availability of spectacles. Her Royal Highness the
Countess of Wessex, who is the global ambassador for eye health confessed that she too had an eye problem when she was a young student.
She indicated that this challenge impacted her negatively to the point that she struggled academically. Her royal highness stated that issues of eye problems are often not given the attention they deserve. She applauded the government for taking this brave step in fighting eye challenges and hoped that other African countries will follow suit. Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health Grace Muzila said that 80percent of a student’s learning process is processed through sight. She indicated that research done in 2014 showed that 5.2percent of people over the age of 50 years have sight problems. Therefore, the government has put in place measures to address the situation before it gets worse. A recipient of spectacles from the Pono Yame project, Pearl Mookotsane was emotional as she explained that before getting the Specs, she struggled a lot with her academics.
She is grateful to government for providing her with reading glasses because now she has greatly improved academically. A parent of a Standard 7 pupil at Molefe Primary school, Patricia Mogadi explained that her child struggled academically prior to having a pair of spectacles. She noticed that he would complain about a perpetual headache and he always rubbed his eyes.
He also struggled a lot academically until they sought medical intervention. Mogadi said there has been significant
change in her child’s academics since he started wearing spectacles.
Molefe Primary School Head, Mangwane Manaana expressed gratitude that their school was selected to pilot the Pono Yame Project. She said it is not every parent that is vigilant about eyesight challenges that exist in children and they are oblivious to signs such as constant rubbing of their eyes and sitting close to the television. Manaana is confident that this year’s PSLE results would show some improvement as poor eyesight is a contributing factor to performing badly in the final examinations.