Every year on November 10th, the world observes International Keratoconus Day to raise public awareness about the disease. The cornea is the transparent front part of the eye that accounts for a large portion of the eye’s optical power. Keratoconus (KC) is a condition in which the cornea thins and bulges like a cone.
The awareness campaign will be celebrated with well-known local artist and Ster Kinekor Vision Mission ambassador, Julanie J who will be the MC along with young women from the Mentoring and Empowerment Programme (MEMPROW). Julanie J is a young, talented singer/songwriter from Cape Town, South Africa. In 2019, at just 21, she signed a major label deal with Warner Music South Africa. Her debut album was released in late 2020, which is led by the first single ‘Dalk Is Ek’. Having Christian roots, she released her first album in 2016 entitled Spirit Breakout, for which she received a Best Newcomer nod at the Mzansi Christian Awards.
The day’s awareness and celebrations include a panel discussion on “Donor Awareness,” specifically soft tissue donations for people with keratoconus. Previous recipients of a corneal transplant sponsored by Ster Kinekor Vision Mission, as well as members of the tissue donation foundation, are on the panel. The screening will take place at the Sandton City Ster-Kinekor Cinema.
Since 2005, Ster-Kinekor has played a critical role in providing eyecare to underserved communities. These included free eye exams, spectacles, corneal transplants, and, beginning in 2019, free hearing tests. Over the years, Ster- Kinekor’s flagship CSI program, Vision Mission, has paid for 29 young people with Keratoconus to have successful corneal surgeries. One of them was a young man who had been blind for the ten years. Vision Mission has progressed from providing spectacles to now providing corneal transplant surgery to children. Vision Mission is progressing in the same direction as we enter the fourth digitalization revolution. Laser surgery, as medical technology advances, reduces the risk of traditional corneal transplant surgery.
Customers of Ster-Kinekor, many of whom choose to add R2.50 or more to their cinema tickets, support Vision Mission. These contributions pay for eye exams, spectacles, and corneal transplants for children whose parents cannot afford this critical resource for them.
Three-quarters of the world’s 1.4 million blind children live in developing countries like South Africa, where their blindness can result in poorer education, social isolation, and increased poverty. Three children have severe vision impairment for every blind child, and 13 require eyeglasses. Nearly 17 million children worldwide have low vision or blurred vision and do not have access to visual aids, services, or spectacles. Another 13 million children are affected by refractive errors (near-sightedness, far-sightedness, and astigmatism).
“Early detection and treatment of eye problems can be life-changing in so many cases,” says Geraldine Engelman, CSI and Transformation specialist for Ster-Kinekor. “Early treatment can mean that a child’s vision develops normally and providing spectacles to children who need them can help them thrive – at school, on the sports field, and in social situations.” Ster- Kinekor’s Vision Mission aims to provide critical eye care to as many youths in underprivileged communities as possible.
Ster Kinekor partners with Wimpy who has offered free lunch for the learners.
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