NISSAN South Africa provides ICEE with a fully operational mobile eye care clinic. It is now even more possible for eye examinations to be performed in remote locations.

The National Indigenous Eye Health Survey is determining the prevalence of eye conditions, like refractive error and diabetic retinopathy, among the Aboriginal community of NSW.

winter 2008International Centre for Eyecare Education - ICEE (pronounced I’See)

givingsight

From the ChairmanWelcome to the Winter edition of the ICEE newsletter giving sight and thank you for your continuing support!

As the end of the financial year looms, ICEE has been taking stock of some our achievements which we are happy to report on in this edition.

In NSW and the Northern Territory, so far, ICEE has established 127 eye care service delivery locations and clinics with the Aboriginal Medical Service, in Aboriginal community controlled medical centres. Importantly, right now, Aboriginal eye care coordinators from remote communities are being trained by ICEE to provide sustainable eye care and vision services in their own communities. We couldn’t provide ‘future vision’ without our ICEE staff and volunteer optometrists, the support of ICEE donors and a further Eye Health Demonstration Grant from the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing.

We take a look at the work of ICEE PhD student, Anthea Burnett, who has been working on the National Indigenous Eye Health Survey in NSW. ICEE is undertaking the NSW component of the National Indigenous Eye Health Survey led by the Centre for Eye Research Australia (CERA) in collaboration with the Vision CRC and supported with funding by the RANZCO Eye Foundation. The results of the study will be used to advocate for effective eye care services for Indigenous Australian peoples wherever they live in Australia.

In Sri Lanka, ICEE has delivered eye care to more than 40,000 people. We take a look at an important moment in history. Enjoy the beautiful images of the country and read about the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the Ministry of Healthcare and Nutrition Sri Lanka, ICEE, IRIS, CBM and the College of Ophthalmologists which provides critical support for the implementation of Sri Lanka’s National Eye Care Plan.

And in Africa we congratulate our ICEE team and celebrate 191,360 child eye care screenings in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). This programme which aims to screen 2.5 million children is thanks to the constant support of the Department of Education KZN, Department of Health KZN, ICEE donors, Standard Chartered Bank, Optometry Giving Sight and their partners around the world and now we welcome NISSAN who has recently donated a fully fitted mobile eye care clinic so work can continue in remote areas of KZN, South Africa.

We have much to celebrate and even more to get on with so stay with us and enjoy!

Professor Brien Holden OAM, Chair of ICEE

CONTACTInternational Centre for Eyecare Education

P 1300 664 233F 02 9385 7436E icee@icee.org

Level 4 Rupert Myers Building The University of New South WalesUNSW Sydney NSW 2052, Australia

www.icee.org

ICEE is excited to announce the opening of an ICEE office in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Australian Government announces $45 million funding initiative, giving hope to blind and vision impaired people throughout the region. To read more visit our website at www.icee.org

www.icee.org

AustraliaICEE has been working to improve Aboriginal eye care for over a decade.

In an exciting study, PhD student Anthea is working to help determine the prevalence and types of eye disease common in Aboriginal communities of NSW, what people know about caring for their eyesight, and what prevents people from getting the eye care they need.

Natalie (pictured right with her daughter Felicity) is a participant of the study. She attended a study location in Toongabbie, NSW on the suggestion of a friend. When ICEE optometrist, Mitasha, was adding stronger lenses to the trial frame Natalie couldn’t believe her eyes, “is this how clearly everyone sees?” she said.

Natalie suffered from headaches and was having trouble reading to her four children, but due to her busy schedule and tight budget she hadn’t been to an optometrist in 11 years. She was happy to participate and is excited about having a new pair of glasses. “I am going to be able to see my kids clearly, every bit of dirt on their faces! I am really looking forward to that,” Natalie said.

Sharon (pictured left) is a midwifery student who was finding that her studies were suffering due to headaches caused by her vision problem. The prescription for her glasses was out of date but it wasn’t convenient for her to get another pair. Since she participated in the study at Toongabbie, Sharon is looking forward to finishing her studies without vision difficulties.

In six locations around NSW, participants like Natalie and Sharon are providing Anthea and Mitasha with valuable information that will ultimately help plan and prioritise effective, culturally appropriate delivery of vision and eye care to Aboriginal people.

The results of the study will also be used to advocate for effective eye care services to Aboriginal Australians in all regions of the country.

Professor Brian Layland, ICEE Director for Aboriginal Programmes and the 2007 recipient of the Excellence in Health Service Delivery by a Non-Aboriginal Person, highlighted, “this is really important, Australia hasn’t done a study like this in over 30 years. I am excited ICEE is involved.”

ICEE is undertaking the NSW component of the National Indigenous Eye Health Survey led by the Centre for Eye Research Australia (CERA) in collaboration with the Vision CRC and supported with funding by the RANZCO Eye Foundation.

Natalie with her new glasses and daughter Felicity

Midwife student Sharon with her new glasses

National Indigenous Eye Health Survey

www.icee.org

SouthAfricaIn South Africa, ICEE is providing eye care to thousands of people.

Bright is a security guard working at the Wentworth Hospital in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal. His poor eye sight was making simple tasks difficult - hindering his job performance and ultimately threatening his livelihood.

“My main job is to secure the nurses and doctors from the unexpected visitors. Most especially my job is paperwork. I’ve got a problem because of the eyes,” said Bright.

He had a refractive error problem but, like many patients of ICEE, never had the opportunity or means to visit an eye care professional.

After an eye examination by an ICEE optometrist, Bright was fitted with a pair of bifocals to correct his refractive error and help him see clearly.

“I had a problem before the glasses. I can’t see clearly. Even doing my job correctly, I was asking one of my colleagues to help me, especially in writing. And now I can do it on my own.”

Bright added, “I’d like to thank ICEE because now I can see!”

“You have no idea of the struggles that the kids go through and how poor some children are and how they just need a company like ICEE to give them a chance to be better by giving them glasses so that they can see in school…so that they can have a better education.”

Thandeka reflects on the contribution of ICEE.

To watch a video of Bright's story visit www.icee.org

THANdEkAICEE Vision Screener

Thandeka is an ICEE Vision Screener working on the Child Eye Care Programme in KwaZulu-Natal

Bright during his eye examination

Late in 2007 NISSAN, South Africa, joined ICEE by providing a fully fitted mobile eye clinic unit for rural and remote eye care in South Africa.

The mobile clinic is equipped for refractions as well as a fitting laboratory to provide on the spot spectacles to order.

“With the ICEE Child Eye Care Programme the goal is to see 2.5 million children across the 11 districts in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) and provide spectacles to whoever needs refraction” said ICEE Regional Director, Reshma Dabindeen.

“But once we started to roll it out we realised access to rural schools is exceptionally difficult and even more challenging was to get children to the nearest clinic. It was not only costly but exceptionally time consuming and often parents can not afford to do that. The mobile clinic now means that the refractions can be done and lenses fitted into the frame immediately so the child will have a pair of spectacles the same day,” she added.

At the handover of the mobile clinic Professor Kovin Naidoo, ICEE Global Programmes Director, thanked NISSAN for their vision to see the benefit of this

programme. Professor Naidoo said, “to date the Child Eye Care Programme has screened the vision of 191,360 children and, in schools for the blind, 329 children have had comprehensive eye examinations and received spectacles, magnifying glasses and telescopes which will make them more independent.”

“The collaboration of NISSAN has shown corporate social responsibility is a powerful tool for the improvement of the lives of our people through the eradication of poverty and access to resources in our society,” he said.

Responding to Professor Naidoo, Managing Director of NISSAN South Africa, Julio Panama, said “…we believe the mobile eye care unit will alleviate much of the pressure brought about through inaccessibility to facilities and lack of resources. We also believe children are the future of our country and we feel we are contributing in no small measure to ensuring their health and, indirectly, to the education of generations to come”.

“Our mission is to eliminate avoidable blindness due to refractive and low vision in disadvantaged communities”. Regional Director, Reshma Dabindeen, speaking on behalf of ICEE.

ICEE GoesMobile

To date the programme has provided 191,360 children in the region with an eye examination and when necessary a pair of glasses.

The Child Eye Care Programme is part of the Giving Sight to Africa, KwaZulu-Natal programme which in partnership with the Department of Health and Department of Education South Africa and supported by

ICEE donors of Australia, Institute or Eye Research, USAID, Standard Chartered Bank ‘Seeing is Believing’ and Optometry Giving Sight

www.icee.org

in the field

Dr Kahandaliyanage greets ICEE Research and Programmes Manager for the Asia-Pacific, Gerd Schlenther

Relaxing, Al Haj Rafeek can read because he has glasses

Dr Binara Amarasinghe and IRIS Field Manager, Roger Biggs at the MoU signing

Vision screening for childrenFarmers at work in fields of Sri Lanka

It is essential that Ms Weeraratua has clear vision for her job as a bookkeeper

Mr Mandedena is thankful for his glasses Wearing her glasses, Mrs Jayatilaka is able to complete her housework safely

Countryside of tropical Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is a lush tropical island situated in the warm waters of the Indian Ocean. Though the country is rich in natural beauty, the population, of 21 million, is relatively poor. The inability to afford a pair of glasses and limited access to eye care means many Sri Lankan’s suffer from avoidable blindness.

However, times are changing. An exciting new collaboration, formed to build programmes and infrastructure, will ensure that people across the country have access to affordable eye care. On February 20 2008, ICEE, the Ministry of Healthcare and Nutrition Sri Lanka, IRIS, CBM and the College of Ophthalmologists signed a

Sri Lanka takes crucial steps towards eliminating avoidable blindness

sri lanka

Mrs Jeyaraj wearing the glasses she requires daily

Glasses mean Mr Mazammil is able to run his business

ICEE programme staff member Naomi and photographer Reno Rieger took photographs of community members in Sri Lanka and asked them how vision correction has changed their lives.

Village shop in rural Sri Lanka

ICEE volunteer screening the vision of a rural Sri Lankan woman

Patients waiting to attend remote ICEE clinicBusy market

Mr Chandrasena is able to read Mr Lahivu Asanka hopes to do A Level studies now that he can see clearly

Majestic tea plantations

Memorandum of Understanding to work together to support the implementation of a national eye care plan.

Dr Binara Amarasinghe, President of the College of Ophthalmologists recognises the importance of refractive error services. He said, “one of the main areas we have identified is low vision and refractive errors and I must say

in the peripheral areas there are a lot of people who need this basic spectacle correction and vision testing to get spectacles to have a better vision.”

In Sri Lanka, ICEE has delivered38,607 eye examinations•distributed 29,523 pairs of spectacles •

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Your donation gives sight around the world. Thank you

In the Northern Territory, where diabetes greatly affects the Aboriginal population, access to a slit lamp is invaluable. Essential in diagnosing and monitoring diabetic retinopathy, unfortunately it is a piece of equipment most medical centres are unable to access. Because of this, patients who attend these facilities often receive inadequate eye care. If not monitored closely with a slit lamp, diabetic retinopathy can ultimately lead to blindness.

Dr David Morawetz, of the Morawetz Social Justice Fund, a sub-fund of the Melbourne Community Foundation, has contributed by assisting in the purchase of a portable slit lamp for the ICEE Northern Territory Aboriginal Programme. “I was interested in supporting ICEE with a grant to help improve the vision of indigenous people in Australia,” said Dr Morawetz.

ICEE thanks Dr Morawetz for his generous contribution to the Northern Territory Aboriginal Programme. The Aboriginal patients we examine now have greater access to an important piece of equipment. Their eye health, and ultimately their well being, will benefit from his generosity.

ICEE would like to thank the hundreds of schools and early learning centres across Australia who participated in ICEE Sunnies for Sight Day 2008.

Thanks to their amazing effort over $95,000 will go towards creating a world where every individual has access to quality eye care!

We look forward to your participation in 2009. Visit www.sunniesforsight.org to find out more.

Contact us by phone on 1300 664 233 or send mail to us at: ICEE Fundraising Department PO Box 6396 UNSW NSW 1466

Our fundraising department is moving on 20th June 2008!

Simon Chillingworth (photographer)

Patient in the Northern Territory being examined using the Portable Slit Lamp

A Generous Gift