THE City Government of Cagayan de Oro launched on Thursday its first eyesight program which aims to provide not only free eye examinations for public elementary school children but also free eyeglasses.
City Mayor Oscar Moreno recently crafted an Executive Order creating the Cagayan de Oro Eyesight Board for the city's eye care program.
Dubbed as "The Gift of Sight for a Child," Doctor Carlo Antonio Romero, chairman of the Cagayan de Oro Eyesight Board, said they are set to train school nurses to aid them in identifying possible patients, which should be coming from Grade 3 to Grade 6 only.
"Gituyo namo kini nga walay apil ang preschool, Grade 1 and 2, because usually pupils in these levels don't know how to read yet. So that would make the examination difficult for them," Romero said.
After the identification process, Romero said the children will be brought to the JR Borja General Hospital for the free screening.
Romero said a local database of patients will be created for purposes of records and possible further actions.
"The problem is the children man gud, they do not know they have vision problem. Unlike sa private schools, naa sila'y check-up gayud to monitor their holistic health status," Romero said.
"Ang problem man gud if delayed imong pagpacheck-up, that may result to a lazy eye. Dili siya ma-correct fully kung later na siya mahibal-an. Aside from that, iyang capabilities dili ma-harness fully kay kulang man, dili man siya kakita kaayo," Romero added.
The Cagayan de Oro Eyesight Board will focus on priority areas which include cataract surgeries, error of refraction, and childhood blindness.
Moreno said the eye care program is part of the city’s commitment to children’s well-being, citing that clear vision is important to being excellent at school.
The chairman said if a child's vision is neglected, it may result to poor performance.
The program would not be confined only to Kagay-anons but should serve the entire island in the future.