In June 2021, humanitarian Anton Poplett and his passionate @4x4OutFar team conducted much-needed eye-screening on 2 300 children and some adults at CITW partner schools in Botswana’s Bobirwa District. A year later, the Tuli Conservation Trust (TCT) undertook to return to the schools in late May 2022 for check-ups on the children who received eye glasses, and to test all the Standard 4 pupils at the schools.
Here are just a few of the success stories from this greatly appreciated initiative.
Meet little Lesego Makwati
Lesego is a Standard 4 learner at Gobojango Primary School. When she sat down to start her eye test we noticed she was struggling around the line 5 mark. She really had to concentrate, lean forward and squint to read the direction of the letters in lines 5 and 6. We felt we could absolutely improve this, and put her in the U-See testing kit. After snapping in custom lenses we conducted the test once again. Lesego read all the way to line 11 confidently! What a huge difference for such an amazing little girl.
Pictured is Lesego Makwati with Emmah Ditiso – TCT Community Liaison Officer, after she was issued her new glasses.
This is Lone
Lone is a Standard 7 learner from Gobojango Primary School in the Masego Cluster. She is a transfer student from the Maun area this year so she was not part of the eye testing held in 2021. Luckily we asked the teachers about any pupils they were concerned about in higher grades, and Lone was brought to us. In Lone’s initial test she was only able to read line 5 on the testing chart. After a second test, and a round with the U-See kit, we were able to issue her with a pair of custom-lens glasses to suit her needs. She sat for her final eye test with her new glasses on and was able to read all the way down to line 11 with absolutely no hesitation. There is simply no better feeling than seeing a child so confident with their vision.
Pictured is Lone Mokokwana with her grandmother, Boitshepo Mokokwana, both of whom are thrilled with Lone’s new glasses!
Following up with Darren Sechoni
Darren is a student at Mabolwe Primary School and received eyeglasses in 2021, when a team of passionate individuals worked throughout the villages surrounding THE Northern Tuli Game Reserve. We followed up with Darren now to make sure his glasses were helping him the way they should.
He confidently told us the following news. “I do not have strain on my eyes to see, so my eyes no longer get painful and I no longer get a headache. I can sit anywhere I want in the class room and my results have started to improve”.
Darren’s mother, Othusitse, is a teacher at Mabolwe Primary, and is very proud of her son as well as grateful for the improvements she has seen since Darren received his glasses.
Pictured are Darren and his mother.
