Hotel Renuka, Renuka City Hotel and SOMS complete vision care program in Kayts

Tuesday, 20 August 2013 00:10 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Hotel Renuka and Renuka City Hotel recently sponsored a vision care program carried out by So Others May See Inc (SOMS) in the Kayts electorate to commemorate the 110th birth anniversary of Alfred Leo Thambiayah, founding chairman of the hotels. The program, which lasted five days from 16-20 July, was oversubscribed requiring the implementation of a second program. As such, a second program was also carried out with much enthusiasm between 23 and 25 July, and many people in the electorate benefitted from these programs. A total of 1,372 patients were able to get their vision checked and treated for ailments associated with their eyes. As such, the team participating in the program detected 1,042 patients who required spectacles and 205 patients who required surgery for cataract. 199 reading glasses were handed out to patients on the spot, while those who needed lenses with distance correction received their glasses on 13, 14 or 15 August.

The cataract surgeries, which are scheduled to be done by Dr. Malaravan, a surgeon from the Jaffna Teaching Hospital, will take place in September, thus successfully concluding the vision care program. Commenting on the success of the program, Ravi Thambiayah, Chairman of Hotel Renuka and Renuka City Hotel, said: “Kayts was my father’s electorate and he was very passionate about his constituents. Therefore, he facilitated many aspects in regard to education, road networks, hospitals and so on. For these reasons, we were very happy to be part of this program that looked into the welfare of the people in Kayts and I am extremely happy about the response we received for the clinic. We will look into the possibility of doing more at the Kayts’ base hospital and to see how best we can help the people in memory of my father.” The program was conducted on a request by Dr. Ketheswaran, RDHS of Jaffna, and Vision 2020 as well as local MOH offices that contributed immensely to make this program a success. Due to the shortage of optometrists in Kayts as well as the Jaffna district, the program provided an excellent opportunity for people in the electorate to consult and obtain treatment for their ailments related to vision. Touring through several islands in the electorate, the program received an overwhelming response and SOMS was further requested to carry out a similar vision care program for all schoolchildren in the Jaffna district. Ashanthi Mathai, Founder and President of SOMS, said: “It was a privilege to work with the RDHS of Jaffna and his team to conduct this program for the residents of the Jaffna islands. The Vision2020 Secretariat facilitated the project and we are very grateful for that. We also greatly appreciate the funding provided by Ravi Thambiayah and Renuka Hotels.” “In terms of accessibility and many other things, the Kayts electorate is one of the most difficult areas in Jaffna,” said Dr. Ketheswaran, RDHS of Jaffna. “Even if we refer a patient to the eye clinic at the Jaffna Teaching Hospital, they do not go due to various reasons. Therefore, this project carried out by SOMS was a very a beneficial, fruitful and constructive one for the people as well as the schoolchildren of the area. We, the staff at the health department and the people of Jaffna, would like to convey our sincere gratitude to the whole team.” Many children as well as adults were able to gain access to eye care facilities free of charge through this worthy cause undertaken by SOMS with the funding of Renuka Hotels. It is hoped that they will be able to venture into other projects that would benefit the people of the area in years to come.