Vision Health Day for residents of four refugee shelters

As in 2019, Essilor's Vision for Life social impact fund and Caritas Luxembourg organised an awareness-raising and vision screening campaign for the residents of four refugee shelters in the southern region of Luxembourg.

Thanks to the mobilisation of an ophthalmologist and volunteer opticians selected by Vision For Life, 110 residents, adults and children, from the two refugee shelters in Esch-sur-Alzette, the shelter in Differdange and the shelter in Foetz, were able to follow a complete visual health programme.

Thanks to the mobile visual health unit and a room lent for the occasion by the City of Esch-sur-Alzette, Vision for Life installed all the necessary equipment so that each person could benefit from

• a pre-screening and refraction examination ;   
• a complete eye examination by an ophthalmologist if necessary;   
• if necessary, corrective glasses. The glasses were given to them immediately on the spot for the simple prescriptions and will be given within two weeks for the more complex prescriptions. In total, 34 people needed corrective glasses.   
• A pair of sunglasses was also given to all residents, so that they could protect their eyes from UV rays due to their daily exposure to the outdoors.

Poor vision remains the world's number one disability. The Vision for Life programme provides a real solution by enabling them to have good vision and thus better manage their daily lives and integration. For children in particular, having glasses adapted to their needs helps to give them the best chance to succeed in their integration and learning.

As in 2019, the action has made it possible to detect many vision problems that were previously ignored by the people concerned. A large proportion of them had never had their eyesight checked before. Some more serious problems were also detected. The people were then referred to local ophthalmologists for further follow-up.

For the Essilor Group, this event is part of its initiatives to make visual health accessible to the most vulnerable populations. In line with its mission to improve vision in order to improve life, Essilor is active in more than 40 countries with the aim of bringing visual solutions to as many people as possible, in particular through its Vision for Life social impact fund.