The Bright Eyes Centre for the visually impaired runs on pure passion and stubborn love, writes Katrine Anker-Nilssen.
Established in 2009 to meet a critical need – caring for, educating and supporting visually impaired children and their carers in Durban – the Bright Eyes Centre has unique skills and philosophies. “With the assistance of our donors and supporters, we have achieved some amazing things and will continue to strive and push as hard as we can to change the world as we know it for the benefit of the children that we serve,” says Carron Strachan – who co-founded the NPO together with Cathryn Aylett.
Cathryn is a qualified foundation phase teacher pursuing her honours in inclusive education, and always knew she wanted to help to make education accessible for all. “I never dreamed I would be involved at grassroots level in a sector that is desperately in need of reform,” she says.
Carron has over 20 years’ experience working with the visually impaired. “As a visually impaired person who navigated the mainstream school setting, I want to give each and every visually impaired child the best chance at success. I know first-hand how it feels to be visually impaired in a world that is not designed for us, and I have made it my mission to pass on my life lessons to the parents and children we serve.”
The NPO’s primary goal is to provide highly specialised and adapted intervention and foundational strategies to ensure the optimal and naturally healthy physical, cognitive and emotional development of visually impaired young children – all within a supportive and nurturing environment. The centre serves as a source of comfort, support and vital information for families and caregivers – encouraging children to explore the world they live in confidently and competently so that they never grow to internalise their disability and fall behind the expected standard of their peers.
On average one in four children under five and one in 20 children overall has an undetected vision disorder. The Bheka Project, started in October last year, is a Bright Eyes drive to ensure that children in vulnerable communities receive essential early intervention services and vision screenings from as early as six months old. The earlier a vision disorder is detected, the more effectively it can be treated.
“The pandemic highlighted the urgent need for us to extend our project, providing follow-up care to children in the form of offering an optometrist consultation for accurate decision making on further referral – including referral to ophthalmologists and providing assistive devices to those who have been identified as having vision disorders,” says Carron.
Elmarie Grendele qualified as an optometrist in 2007 and is passionate about ensuring children have the best possible opportunities to learn and develop. “I have followed Bright Eyes for several years and am inspired by the amazing work they do. I got involved with the Bheka project a year ago, assisting with mass screenings on children,” she explains. “We are reaching children who normally would never have been able to receive this care and are unaware that they have a problem. It is extremely rewarding to give them and their parents hope for a bright future.”
Witnessing that moment when a mother and child connect for the first time is another hugely rewarding part of the work Carron and Cathryn do. “As a sighted person you don’t realise how much you depend on eye contact for communication in the baby years,” says Cathryn – adding that their biggest challenge is education. “Teaching parents and caregivers how to care for a visually impaired child is crucial.”
Bright Eyes is desperately in need of further funding to keep the project going, and always welcome donations or occupational therapists, speech therapists, psychologists and physiotherapists who are willing to donate an hour of their time weekly.
Signs for parents to look out for, for early intervention:
- Does your little one frequently bump into objects or trip and fall?
- Do they squint their eyelids when focusing on an object?
- Do they sit too close to the TV or hold their books to their nose?
- Short attention span for their age, avoidance of detailed activities
- Rubbing or covering of eyes
FACTS
- 80% of all consciousness and functionality is obtained through your eyes
- 1/3 of the mass of your brain is dedicated to vision
- 95% of squints (strabismus) are also refractive errors
- 59% of the general public wear glasses
- 7% of people will have a blind eye because they weren’t prescribed glasses early, when their vision impairment was correctable and avoidable
FOR MORE INFO: www.brighteyes.co.za