The results are coming in! On January 24, 2021, we sent a questionnaire to all twelve schools we served asking the health teacher to follow up with the children who received glasses. We have now received responses from ten of those twelve schools and here is what we have learned so far about the 147 children who received glasses last year in our program; please note that in almost every case, this is the first time the child has received and worn prescription glasses:
90% of the children who received glasses report that their vision is clearer now.
95% of the children who received glasses report that better vision has improved their everyday life.
96% of the children who received glasses report that overall their eyesight has improved.
But there are also
some problems, too:
18% of the children who received glasses report they sometimes feel dizzy.
15% of the children who received glasses report that the glasses can be uncomfortable around their temples and ears.
39% of the children who received glasses report that the glasses sometimes move down their nose, i.e. the fit is not perfect and they have to push them back up.
26% of the children who received glasses report that the glasses have been damaged.
Our CMIRC School Vision Screen Program team will be back in the schools after the semester break in March-April and we will help the children who have identified problems with fit, damage and vision adjustment. In a very few cases where health teachers identified major problems, we will work with our optician to address those problems.
Moving Forward
We are now in the midst of planning for next year; probably beginning our screenings of 3rd and 5th graders in May or June, at the start of the new school year. The screenings will include a follow-up examination with the children who received glasses in 2020 (most will be 4th and 6th-graders at the same schools) and then screening the new 3rd and 5th-graders at each of the twelve schools.
Importantly, we have not yet identified donors to help us sponsor our CMIRC School Vision Screening Project for the next school year beginning in May. So, while our plans are coming together nicely, we have not yet found funding to supplement our CMIRC and Rotary Club of Chiang Mai-Wattana contributions to the project. The program cost per prescription including the optician’s fees, frames, and lenses this past year was about 600 baht (US$20) and the glasses are provided for free to the children. The total program budget for next year is estimated at between $3,000 and $4,000 US dollars.
If you wish to learn how you can help, please contact Project Champion John Schorr at johnkschorr@gmail.com or tel.: 66 (0)8 5030 2143
Our 2020 School Vision Screening Donor Team: