Correcting Refractive Errors at CFT

CFT establishes strong foundations in their students’ education, which opens the doors to higher education and subsequent employment. Unfortunately, the students come from families that do not have access to basic healthcare, including simple eye examinations. Our preliminary screening method involves the use of a Snellen Chart (or Tumbling E Chart for those that are unable to read English), which is low cost, readily replicable, and easy to perform. For our first project in 2016, we organized further testing for twenty-four students with potential refractive errors at The Eye Centre at the South City Hospital in Karachi. The clinic confirmed that seventeen of those students had refractive errors that needed correction with glasses. Since then we have been working more closely with LRBT—Pakistan’s largest provider of free eye care—to arrange further eye examinations for the students with potentially impaired vision. Through help from donors in the local community we are able to provide the relevant students with eyeglasses. Those that need further treatment or even surgery are referred to LRBT; they provide the necessary care free of charge.

Through our work, we are able to raise awareness for refractive errors at CFT, which helps teachers identify if a student is potentially struggling in class due to a visual impairment. Students have expressed that their inability to see the blackboard clearly has had an impact on their academic performance. Many resorted to copying work from their neighbors during class but often ended up missing a lot of important information. The simplicity of our preliminary screening method allowed us to train the teachers at CFT to perform such visual acuity screenings annually so that students with potential visual impairments can be identified more regularly.

More recently (2023), teachers at CFT have explained that they are noticing a higher incidence of students with potential refractive errors. One possible reason for this could be due to the fact that CFT was forced to deliver school work through small mobile phone screens over the pandemic, which could be causing more eye strain for the students. Also, the pandemic led to higher food prices and many more of the students have become malnourished since their families are no longer able to afford a diverse diet that includes fruits, vegetables, and proteins. We decided to conduct a refresher course for the CFT teachers on performing the preliminary visual acuity screenings. LRBT has helped us again with the further testing of the students with potential refractive errors. Clearly is also planning to organize the provision of nutritious meals for the students through the school with help from donors.