Bright smiles and healthy eyes were the order of the day as children of the St. Mary’s Children’s Home in Tacarigua received free dental check-ups, eye screenings, and overall health checks, thanks to the efforts of Rotary members and medical professionals.
Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Medical Sciences at The UWI and a member of the Rotary Club of San Fernando West (RCSAW), Dr. Pradeep Sahu, who was instrumental in the initiative, explained the offerings that were made accessible.
“We started with the dental talk, where the dental experts and dental hygiene experts, they came and give a talk which was demonstration, very interesting as children, in the Children’s Home they participated with full enthusiasm and it was very good. Then after the dental talk, there were three groups of children, twenty each in each group, they divided into three sections, one went to general health screening, another for optometry, and the third group, they went for dental screening.”
Though its services remain in high demand, the School of Optometry made time to join in and lend support.
According to Dr. Kingsley Ekemiri at the UWI Faculty of Medical Sciences, the young ones underwent eye examinations to check for sight and colour vision challenges, and were even given immediate referrals where needed.
“The reason why we decided to be a part of this, I’m talking about the School of Optometry, is to give back to the community, to help the underserved population, such as the kids we have here, to ensure that they have quality eye checks just like every other person.”
Meanwhile, the Director of Club and Community of the Rotary Club of St. Augustine West (RCSWA), Dr. Ariadne Saunders, said the Rotary Club intends to carry the effort forward.
She also noted that for many of the young residents, the initiative marks the first step towards lasting wellness.
“Hopefully we can make it an annual or biannual event, and we were talking to the staff at the Home, they even identified one or two other homes that are like St Jude’s in Diego Martin and other Homes that may also benefit from this kind of outreach.”
With every smile restored and every eye checked, hope grows a little stronger at St. Mary’s Home.