Southampton, United Kingdom, 31st July 2013 — Contact lens manufacturer, CooperVision’s, ‘One Bright Vision’ campaign to help transform lives in Tanzania through the gift of vision has by far surpassed its teacher training targets set for the next phase of the campaign. This means that students will be able to access eye health screenings quicker and receive the appropriate referrals where necessary.
A goal of 140 teachers trained as vision screeners across 70 schools was set to be met by the end of July, but incredibly already 309 teachers have been trained from 127 schools from the programme, which is implemented by the Brien Holden Vision Institute.
Through sales of CooperVision’s Biofinity® family of lenses, whereby a donation is contributed per pack sold, CooperVision has now raised enough funds to provide essential eye care screenings for nearly 70,000 children in the Bagamoyo District.
"The feedback from all the teachers involved in the training has been extremely positive," said Clive Miller, Global CEO for Optometry Giving Sight, the global eye care charity that is partnering with CooperVision to raise funds for the campaign. "They can see the value in the training and in being able to identify vision problems with their students and make referrals where needed. Everyone is excited now that the foundations for the programme have been laid and the focus over the next few months will be to ensure that all year 7-12 students in the region are screened".
CooperVision’s goal is to raise sufficient funds to support 100,000 eye health screenings for the comprehensive child (7 – 12 years) in the underserved Bagamoyo District in Tanzania by the end of October 2013.
Heathcliffe Clash, European Communications Manager at CooperVision said: “It is fantastic to see that so many teachers have already received the training needed to carry out these much needed screenings, and the direct impact this is having on the children in the area. At halfway through the campaign, it is rewarding to know that the targets have already been exceeded and we are grateful to our practitioners and patients for their help in making this a reality.”
For more information and to get involved visit www.onebrightvision.com.
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About CooperVision
CooperVision, a unit of The Cooper Companies, Inc. (NYSE: COO), is one of the world's leading manufacturers of soft contact lenses. The Company produces a full array of frequent replacement and daily disposable contact lenses, all featuring advanced materials and optics. CooperVision has a strong heritage of solving the toughest vision challenges; such as astigmatism and presbyopia; and offers the most complete collection of spherical, toric and multifocal products available. Through a combination of innovative products and focused practitioner support, the company brings a refreshing perspective to the marketplace, thereby creating real advantages for customers and wearers. For more information, visit www.coopervision.com.
About Optometry Giving Sight
Optometry Giving Sight (www.givingsight.org) is the only global fundraising initiative that specifically targets the prevention of blindness and impaired vision due to uncorrected refractive error – simply the need for an eye exam and a corrective device such as a pair of glasses.
Optometry Giving Sight supports the goals of VISION 2020: The Right to Sight, an initiative of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB). VISION 2020 aims to eliminate avoidable blindness by the year 2020, in order to give all people in the world the right to sight.
For more information, visit www.coopervision.co.uk.
Contact lenses are medical devices and can only be prescribed and dispensed by a licensed eye care professional.