Dhaka (AsiaNews) - A camp to provide free eye examination to those who cannot afford regular check-ups was held last Friday in Badhun, a village in Gazipur District. About 350 people - Christians, Muslims and Hindus - were able to receive specialised treatment, medicines and eyeglasses thanks to the Badhun Christian Youth Club.
The club set up the field surgery with the assistance of doctors from the Dhaka Metro Lions Eye Hospital, a private facility in the capital. Their initiative gave patients with eye problems a chance to buy low cost glasses and medicines.
"I am a seamstress and I have suffered a lot because I could not see well," Beauty Costa, a 32-year-old Catholic woman, told AsiaNews. "I could not go to a doctor to have my eyes checked, but this camp has helped me. They gave me glasses to wear."
"I suffered from headaches for two months," said Mukul Rani, a 55-year-old Hindu, "but today I discovered that I only have to take a medicine for the eyes."
The Bhadun Christian Youth Club was founded in 2000. Its president, Alex Rozario, said that he came up with the idea of setting up an eye camp because "In my family we felt the lack of eye care; in the village too. So I contacted the Dhaka Metro Lions Eye Hospital and asked for their help."
According to official data, some 80,000 people lose their sight every year due to lack of care and checks. Overall, about 35 per cent of the population suffers from eye problems.