Celebrating Sight in Schools

What would life be like if you couldn’t watch High School Musical or see where the goal was when playing football? The world would be a very different place if you couldn’t see. There are currently 1.4 million children worldwide who are blind, a large number of whom live in developing countries. However lots of the children who are blind could be treated and have their sight restored.   

International blindness charity Sightsavers is launching a national fun day - i:care - for primary schools. The day is a celebration of sight as well as an opportunity for pupils to learn about eye care and find out more about blindness in developing countries. 

The day takes place on Friday 20th June and special activity packs full of activities are available for pupils, as well as Braille cards so children can learn more about this tactile alphabet, and a teachers support pack. Schools are invited to hold a dress down ‘Wear Bright for Sight’ day or organise activities like sensory lunches to raiseawareness on i:care day.  

Sightsavers works in over thirty countries, across Africa, Asia and the Caribbean to prevent and cure blindness and support those who are visually impaired to lead independent lives. 45 million people worldwide are blind, however a staggering 75% of blindness could be treated or prevented.     

For more information about i:care day visit www.sightsavers.org/schools or email schools@sightsavers.org. 

The little boy above is Arif - Seven year old Arif from Bangladesh had a life-changing cataract operation which restored his sight.  The credit for this image is: Zul Mukhida/Sightsavers