Philanthropist to host eye clinic in Jamaica

LONDON:

London-based Jamaican philanthropist Captain Lesa Thomas is again giving a helping hand to her parent’s home land by partnering with local eyecare/eyewear provider, EyeQ Opitcal Ltd, in a project to benefit some 300 children in St Catherine.

The commercial aircraft pilot is to this week set up the clinic with local based ophthalmologist and optician specialists to begin testing students of Guys Hill Primary School in St Catherine as of Thursday, May 8.

Captain Thomas feels that the key to good education success for these young children is for them to have clear vision.

She said: “Young students with poor vision are not able to see the black broad properly and this will affect their ability to learn effectively. Because they are not screened with eye sight testing on a regular basis, problems of vision are not detected early and can become a bigger issue later.

“There are many reasons why children encounter eye sight problems. Some could be hereditary as they inherit vision problems which run in their family, or it could be poor lighting in the classroom. The end result is that they lose confidence while learning as they are not able to see the black board properly and it affects their work.

“With the clinic that will be share-partnered with EyeQ Opitcal, we will be able to assist those children who have vision problems and we will give them a free prescription and also free eye glasses. Both EyeQ Opitcal and myself will be undertaking the cost for the eye glasses.”

FUTURE PLANS

This will be first such clinic at the Guys Hill Primary School. With its success, Captain Thomas is aiming to visit at least three schools per year with similar eye testing clinics.

This is not the first time she has assisted the Guys Hill Primary School. Two years ago, she partnered with VM Group Limited to set up deposit-only accounts for 70 students at the school to assist them in financial literacy and learning how to save for their future.

At the time, she said: “I want to motivate the students to save and have a better future. I plan to review the accounts annually and double the amount saved by the parents for the year from my own resources. My plan for the accounts is that they should not be able to touch that money saved until they reach 18 years old.”

In addition to this initiative, for the past six years, she has sponsored one of the houses (Lesa House) at the Guy’s Hill Primary School for its annual sports day competition, and will be providing sports kits for those students representing that house.

Born in London to Jamaican parents, the pilot and certified counsellor visited the Guy’s Hill community, where her parents were from, almost every holiday as a child . She has remained connected to the area through her philanthropic work.

Captain Thomas said: “Visiting was a major part of my life and getting that Jamaican grounding through my grandmother, along with the influence from my Jamaican upbringing has led to my desire to give back. I love community projects, helping vulnerable people and children and I believe in giving back as I have received.”