"Thanks to my glasses I can see at school"

Rabi, who we met in 2019 when he was seven years old, had been struggling to see for at least six months.

Everything had become difficult, from his studies, to navigating the half an hour walk to and from school with his older sister.

He couldn’t even see the faces of his friends and family clearly, especially at a distance.

In class his teacher would often notice that Rabi would cry when asked to read or write. When she discovered he couldn’t see properly she sat him at the front of the classroom but it didn’t seem to make much difference.

REACH Programme

In early 2019 our Reactive Error Among Children (REACH) programme arrived at Rabi’s school. REACH aims to address the challenges of schoolchildren who are unable to access eye care. It provides children with individual attention and follow-up, referring them to specialists if necessary and electronically logging their progress.

Rabi was diagnosed with high myopia or extreme near-sightedness. This meant he was unable to see objects at a distance of more than a few metres away.

"Now whenever the teacher asks me to read and write, I can do it.”

A few days later Rabi received his first pair of glasses and the difference was immediate. “Now I can see people far away and I can see things at a very far distance, even up to there!” Rabi says pointing to the horizon. He is also enjoying school once again. “I love to read and play with friends. Now whenever the teacher asks me to read and write, I can do it.”

Had Rabi not been diagnosed and given the glasses he needed, it could have seriously hindered his development at school, and at home.

Rabi dreams of being a teacher or a policeman when he’s older, and now that he’s able to study well, his dream is in reach.