Aya Gail Gomez, an 11-year-old student of Bacood Elementary School (BES), struggles in her class. With a blurry vision, she would sit in the front to clearly see what was written on the board. Aya also would ask a classmate to read aloud the words on the board so she can write them down on her notebook.
“She once told me that she couldn’t see clearly when things were far away,” her mother, Rhecil said, according to Tzu Chi Medical Foundation Philippines, the humanitarian organization running the Tzu Chi Eye Center (TCEC) in Sta. Mesa, Manila.
After a free eye checkup at the TCEC last 22 October, her very first, the young girl was given eyeglasses by volunteer optometrist Dr. Adriene Elizabeth Lim.
“I didn’t pay much attention at first. But now I realize how important it is to have her eyes checked. I was shocked that her eye grade was already so high!” Rhecil said.
Together with Aya, 15 other students from BES had their eyes checked by Lim at the TCEC and were given corrective eyeglasses.
BES has 321 learners struggling to read due to undiagnosed vision problems. Coming from low-income families, they could not afford an eye checkup and eyeglasses so they simply do what Aya did, squinting in class just to follow the lesson.
Principal Aireen Perez reached out to the foundation and TCEC to help the kids see better.
Like the hundreds of adult patients seeking free cataract surgery at the TCEC everyday, Tzu Chi welcomed the young schoolchildren.
“We are truly grateful that all our Aral Learners will undergo the eye screening process,” said Perez, according to Tzu Chi. “If many of them are found to have vision issues, it will help us understand that their reading challenges are connected to their eyesight.”
More than experiencing their very first eye checkup, including reading letters on the eye chart, the BES patients received free graded eye glasses.
“Only people with a thinking heart and a feeling mind can do this kind of noble work,” Perez said, according to the Foundation. “It’s not about recognition; it’s about truly seeing the problem and finding a real solution.”
“We may never be able to repay this kindness, but someday our students will — by becoming the kind of people who give back,” the principal added.
