A LIONS Club team carried out eye checks at several Kerang schools last week as part of an Australia-wide Lions program.
The Lions Eye Health Program, which is being run entirely by volunteers through the club and governed by the Centre for Eye Health in Sydney, has been operating for a couple of years in Australia and started in Victoria earlier this year.
It sends trained volunteers into schools to examine children for long-sightedness, short sightedness, colour vision, turned eyes and eye coordination.
The program doesn’t test for eye disease.
A group of local Lions, together with 2nd vice district governor Harry Brindley, from Charlton, and retired optometrist and program coordinator Rod Jackson, from Mirboo North, visited three schools last week, and put participating students through a series of screening tests.
The students tested under the program were all previously undiagnosed with eye problems.
Kerang Lions health chairman Greg Ginn said undiagnosed eye problems could have a real impact on children’s schooling, and that finding and addressing issues could have “huge benefits in terms of education and employment”.
Of the 135 children tested at three Kerang Schools last week, one student out of 47 at St Joseph’s Primary, nine out of 71 at Kerang South Primary and one out of 17 at the Christian College were found to have issues warranting follow-up assessment and possible treatment.
Mr Ginn said last week’s visits were the first series of screenings under the program for Kerang schools, with schools in Cohuna checked by a Lions team from Dingee and Pyramid Hill earlier in the year.
“To have done it with that many kids in Kerang gives us great experience,” Mr Ginn said.
He said the club hoped to take the program to Barham and Murarabit and to continue the Kerang screenings on a regular basis.
The head of primary at Kerang Christian College, Bronwyne Van Leeuwen, said the school was very grateful to the Lions for the service.
“It was a great opportunity for our kids to have an eye check without having to find an optometrist or make an appointment,” Ms Van Leeuwen said.
“The screening helps parents and it’s a great connection with the Lions.”
