In Rome from 20 February to 4 March the first stage of the year of the “Days of Sight”, the project of the OneSight Foundation EssilorLuxottica Italia which aims to offer sustainable access to eye examinations. The Foundation will take care of free eye examinations for vulnerable people, donating eyeglasses to those who need them. The initiative, promoted under the patronage of the Chamber of Deputies, the Ministry of Labor and Social Policies, the Lazio Region and the Municipality of Rome and in collaboration with the Community of Sant’Egidio, a non-profit organization which has been dealing with to give support to the most fragile, takes place within the Community Vaccination Hub, the San Gallicano Hospital in Via Dei Fienaroli, 13.
«The Community of Sant’Egidio would like to thank the OneSight EssilorLuxottica Italia Foundation for this important initiative of free eye examinations» he declares Giacomo Cesare Zucconi segretario ggeneral of the Community of Sant’Egidio Acap Onlus; «we are happy that the Foundation has wanted the collaboration of Sant’Egidio in the various stages of the 2023 Campaign, which will touch numerous Italian cities in which Sant’Egidio is actively present (from Rome to Naples, from Genoa to breaking latest news…), and that will see us busy together. In this difficult time of economic crisis which sees a general impoverishment of many Italian families, there is a real need to promote networks of solidarity which support those who are poorest and in difficulty. The right to health and care is a fundamental right, which must always be made possible. Only thanks to the collaboration of different realities can hope be restored to many and a better future can be built»
In the complete eye clinic set up thanks to the technical equipment donated by Essilor for the occasion – with the support of important associations such as il Circle of Saint Peterl’Order of Maltathe Ark Project Foundation e Track 95 – over 800 people in total will be visited by the team of ophthalmologists and orthoptists coordinated by Schiano Lomoriello, doctor of the Bietti Foundation, the only ophthalmological IRCCS in Italy. The same institution assures people who need it the continuation of medical care free of charge.
Immediately after the medical examination, the opticians of GrandVision and Salmoiraghi & Viganò they identify the best visual solution based on the prescription, which will be implemented in a short time thanks to the aid of cutting-edge technical instrumentation and thanks to the tele-shaping carried out with the support of the students Of Irsoo, the Optics and Optometry Research Institute of Vinci (FI). EssilorLuxottica volunteers they facilitate the flow of eye examinations and the choice of the model of glasses and each of them participates in the activity by donating a day off.
The EssilorLuxottica OneSight Foundation operates worldwide. Since 2013, with the support of governments, NGOs and an extensive partner network, the Foundation has given half a billion people lifelong access to eye care and provided glasses to more than 58 million individuals in underprivileged areas and communities around the world. Making the UN’s objective its own, the Foundation has set itself the goal of helping to eliminate uncorrected vision defects within a generation, by 2050.
In Italy, the commitment to the right to sight takes the form of various events throughout the country. The 2023 calendar, in addition to the stage in Rome, includes new dates in Naples (March 20-31), Bari (April 12-21), breaking latest news (May 8-19), Turin (June 12-23), Genoa (10- July 21), Catania (September 18-29), Milan (October 9-20), Belluno (November 13-24) and Florence (December 4-15). With ten cities in ten months, the Foundation’s “Sight Days” will guarantee approximately 8,000 people access to eye care tailored to their needs.
“We hope that Sight Days in Italy can continue to grow and help everyone to raise awareness as many people as possible about the importance of vision care, offering an immediate, free and concrete response to those in need,” he comments. Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio, president of the OneSight Foundation EssilorLuxottica Italia. «Even in our country, much can be done to promote access to eye care and social inclusion for people in need. Even today there are 2.7 billion people in the world with uncorrected vision defects, despite the many solutions capable of solving 80% of all vision-related problems. Only through an innovative approach oriented towards collaboration with institutions, ophthalmologists and associations, can we create a virtuous circle, to extend the scope of interventions and maximize our social impact”.