School-based Vision Screening keeps students in school. Meet Yisak!

In 2021, Yisak participated in our first-ever school-based vision screening. Yisak had dropped out of school earlier in the year because he struggled with poor vision and bullying by classmates. His poor vision impacted every part of his life- he couldn't walk safely anywhere because he couldn’t see what was in front of him- oftentimes bumping into people and things and getting hurt.

At school, he could not see the chalkboard or write- his teachers helped as much as they could, but he depended on someone to help him every single day. Despite being a motivated student, his poor vision made it nearly impossible to participate and stay in school.

Fortunately, Yisak was among the first students in 2021 identified by his teachers to be evaluated at our school-based vision screening program. He was screened, diagnosed with refractive error, and received a pair of glasses- a pair of glasses changed his life dramatically.

When we saw him this past fall, Yisak reported that his glasses had helped every part of his life- he can now see everything and everyone clearly and feels much more confident. Yisak is back in school and is a great student!

We ran into Yisak at the Gaicha school this past November! His frames broke a few months prior, but he had them replaced at the latest screening this past fall.

Since 2021, thousands of children have received school-based vision screenings, and hundreds of students and teachers have received eyeglasses. This past fall, 34 students and 66 teachers were identified as having vision issues and received glasses.

Students shouldn’t have to fail or drop out of school because they don’t have access to simple vision screening, diagnosis, and treatment.