LIONS CLUBS INTERNATIONAL DISTRICT 105SW
	SIGHT projects

Sight

Lions Clubs International is recognised worldwide for its service to the blind and visually impaired. This service began through a challenge issued in 1925 by Helen Keller, the great advocate for the blind, for Lions to become "Knights of the Blind in the crusade against darkness". In 1930 Lions introduced the White Cane, still universally used by the visually impaired.

In 1990 Lions Clubs International launched its most aggressive sight preservation effort, SightFirst, raising US$150 million to rid the world of preventable and reversable blindness by supporting desperately needed health care services. Over the last three years Lions worldwide have raised an additional US$200 million as part of our Campaign SightFirst II programme, which builds on the achievements of SightFirst. With around 42 million people suffering from blindness in the world today, Lions internationally realised that many suffered from illnesses, conditions and problems which were generally not too difficult to treat successfully using relatively simple processes.

The Lions Eye Health Programme (LEHP) is a community based educational outreach programme that enables Lions Clubs to raise awareness of the leading causes of preventable and reversable blindness in the British Isles and Ireland - diabetic eye disease; glaucoma; macular degenerative disease; and all low vision diseases.

Lions Sightsavers

Lions and Sightsavers International began working together to combat avoidable blindness in the 1970’s. At first Lions supported surgical eye camps, but in the late 1990’s the camps were replaced with more integrated services (which linked up eye treatment, education and rehabilitation for people whose blindness could not be cured and this has become known as Comprehensive Eye Services (CES). In 2006 (the latest figures available) Lions supported very actively two Eye Care Projects in India and over 70,000 patients were examined resulting in treatment for 47,000 including 10,000 cataract operations and 12,000 prescribed spectacles. Clubs are encouraged to donate £250 towards the cost of the CES programme and continue to be awarded an EYE CAMP banner patch on a cumulative basis.

See more of Sightsavers International work on www.sightsavers.org

Lions Eye Health Programme

The Lions Eye Health Program (LEHP, pronounced "leap") is a community-based education program that allows Lions Clubs, other community organisations, and individuals to promote healthy vision and raise awareness of the causes of preventable vision loss.

The mission of LEHP is to empower communities to save sight through the early detection and timely treatment of glaucoma and diabetic eye disease, encourage those at risk to undergo a dilated eye exam, and educate those with low vision and their caregivers about the condition.

LEHP is the main SightFirst-funded initiative and has been active in the United States, Japan, the British Isles and Ireland, Canada, Australia, and Turkey for several years. Everyone interested in eye health can now participate in LEHP and help to increase eye health awareness.

See more on www.lehp.org.uk

Spectacle Collections

Spectacle Collections are currently organised by Chichester Lions only. PARCEL FORCE will collect FREE OF CHARGE from any town in the UK and deliver them to the Chichester Lions collection point. To find out how to send spectacles to Chichester Lions - click this link.

Spectacles are processed by Chichester Lions club members and other volunteers in their workshop. They use their considerable experience to select the items that are suitable for recycling and to sort them in preparation for onward transmission to Medico France in Le Havre. Medico France have the necessary equipment to clean and grade the spectacles ready for use in eye camps in Africa, India and Eastern Europe. To find out more about Chichester Lions processing of Spectacles - click this link.

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