Dr Vincent Alabi, a youth corps member serving in Kogi, has donated reading glasses to 200 students as part of his Community Development Service (CDS).
The gesture was carried out through Alabi’s NGO, the Path-Finder Foundation International, on Tuesday.
The reading glasses were distributed to primary and secondary schools in Lokoja, the state capital.
The benefiting schools included Muslim Community Secondary School, Scintillated Secondary School, St. Thomas Aquinas Secondary School and Anglican Nursery/Primary School.
The glasses were shared at the official launch of “Operation Zero Blindness”, organised by the NGO.
“More than 80 per cent of blindness in the world is avoidable; but people go blind due to extreme poverty which is not healthy for the country.
“The free eye glasses distributed by my foundation are part of my CDS.
“I wish to plead with governments, at all levels, to provide healthcare facilities for people at the grassroots, who may not have the financial capacity to access quality health services,’’ Alabi said at the ocasion.
Mrs. Oludolapo Ahile, NYSC Coordinator in Kogi, in her remarks, urged corps members to strive to execute viable projects that would add value to the lives of the people in the community.
“You must strive to leave a legacy that will outlive you after the completion of your service year.
“The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), has a cardinal programme called “community project’’, through which members reach out to the community in which they serve, to improve the residents’ living standards.
“Corps members must take full advantage of this programme to write their names in gold,” he said.
The coordinator commended Alabi for executing the project through his foundation, and appealed to corporate organisations and wealthy individuals to assist the foundation.
In a paper presented at the ocasion, Mrs. Hannah Fashona of the Kogi State Leprosy Mission of Nigeria, warned against the danger inherent in visiting native doctors for eye treatment.
“Eye patients should not visit herbal doctors. They should go to the hospital and see specialists to avoid losing their eyes.
“It is also important that people should visit eye doctors instead of buying drugs indiscriminately, because a wrong drug can lead to blindness.
“Measles is one of the agents of eye problem; mothers should ensure that they take their sick children to the hospital for quality service,’’ Fashona advised.
