Essilor and the Essilor Vision Foundation partnered with Special Olympics to hold the first Healthy Athletes event ever conducted by Special Olympics Penang. Together they screened over fifty intellectually disabled athletes.
The vision screening of over 50 intellectually disabled athletes from Special Olympics Penang, supported by Essilor and Essilor Vision Foundation, was held on the 13th of December at Lam Wah Ee Hospital. Screened athletes that were found to have eye sight problems were given prescription glasses which will help them in their everyday life as well as in Special Olympics Year round training and competitions.
“I am very proud of my company for what they do for these intellectually disabled people. By providing services and lenses for the corrections of their eye sight, we have helped to change the lives of many and make them more confident, more active, a better individual all round.”
Ms. Adelynn Khaw from Essilor commented: “I am very proud of my company for what they do for these intellectually disabled people. By providing services and lenses for the corrections of their eye sight, we have helped to change the lives of many and make them more confident, more active, a better individual all round.”
The event was an enriching experience for all; parents highlighted the lack of service for athletes with visual problems and were glad to be able to bring their children to the free eye test by medical experts. “Currently there is no optical shop or eye clinic that caters to intellectually disabled people and they have nowhere to turn to with their questions”, said Daphne Tan, mother of one of the participants.
The Special Olympics is the world’s largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities which organizes year-round training and competitions in over 32 individual and team sports across the world.