SightFirst II - Lions' Vision For All

Lions Clubs International Foundation has launched SightFirst II, a global campaign to continue the fight against preventable and treatable blindness.  Over the next three years, the Orangeville Lions Club is participating in this campaign and doing “our part” to help in this extraordinary endeavor.

Eighty years ago, Helen Keller challenged the Lions clubs to lead the way as the pioneers of hope for the blind and visually impaired.  Today, more than 100 million lives have changed their course thanks to the generosity of Lions clubs around the world. 

In 1990, Lions undertook a campaign known as “SightFirst”.  This campaign has been extraordinarily effective in controlling, and in some places eliminating, the leading causes of unnecessary blindness.  Over that period, SightFirst has prevented blindness or restored vision to 24 million people.  However, despite this tremendous success, the world’s rapidly growing and aging population, along with new patterns of eye disease has given rise to new threats to sight.  The sheer number of people older than 45 (2 billion by 2020), will make cataract blindness more menacing than ever.  Glaucoma and diabetic eye disease are continuing to claim the sight of many more than experts predicted when SightFirst began in 1990. 

Experts still predict that the world’s blind population could double, to 74 million people, and by 2020.  As “Knights of the Blind” Lions will not allow that to happen.  Through the SightFirst II campaign there have been three major objectives set.  These include:

Objective 1 - Control and eliminate major causes of blindness
     Cataracts
          * Fund two million cataract surgeries to eliminate backlog of patients
          * Increase the surgical output at Lions affiliated eye centers
     Trachoma
          * Expand SightFirst from five to 15 countries
          * Increase those served from two million annually to 30-40 million
     River Blindness
          * Eliminate in Latin America by 2010
          * Control in Africa by 2020

Objective 2 - Combat Emerging Threats to Sight
     Low Vision
          * Create three Lions Low Vision Regional Resource Centers
          * Create 30 Lions Low Vision Tertiary Clinics and 50-100 secondary Low Vision Units
     Childhood Blindness
          * Establish 20 more Lions Centers of Excellence in Pediatric Eye Care
          * Strengthen primary eye-care services in the world’s least developed countries
     Uncorrected Refractive Error
          * Expand successful screening and eyeglass distribution programs
          * Create 75 to 100 self-sustaining eyeglass distribution clinics
     Diabetic Retinopathy, Glaucoma and Other Chronic Conditions
          * Create and expand successful Lions’ screening and treatment programs
          * Expand the outreach services of the 550 SightFirst supported eye hospitals 

Objective 3 - Provide “Vision for All”
     Vision Rehabilitation and Education
          * Organize 400 programs about the importance of early intervention and training
          * Strengthen and expand 20 regional education centers
     Lions Vision Research Initiatives
          * Support of specific research initiatives at Lions’ Eye Centers
          * Provide high-profile annual “genius” grants
     Vulnerable Populations
          * Expand opportunities for direct service
          * Extend the Opening Eyes Program (in collaboration with Special Olympics)
 
If you would also like to assist, your involvement and generosity can help Lions Clubs International make the difference between a world of sight and a lifetime of darkness for millions of people.

To get more information on SightFirst II, please contact either of the following Orangeville Lions Club members:
Lion Roy Bryan
roy@bryansfuel.on.ca
519-941-2401 

Lion Barry Sinclair
barry.sinclair@sympatico.ca
519-941-8735