The Future Only Gets Brighter for Yisak!

At 16 years old, Yisak Bekele came to WEEMA’s first ever school-wide eye-sight screening with high hopes. When Yisak was five years old, he contracted an illness that resulted in the loss of most of his vision. Yisak’s parents could not  afford to send him far for treatment options nor could they find the necessary care nearby. They feared sending him to school since he kept having accidents due to his poor vision. They worried he would get hurt and get teased by the other children. Yisak finally convinced his parents to send him to school with his younger brother, but sadly their fears were correct.  He  faced serious bullying. Yisak’s classmates would laugh at him because he couldn’t read what was written on the chalkboard.

His father saw his eagerness to learn and started taking notes for Yisak from his fellow classmates. With a lot of support from his parents, Yisak was able to reach 7th grade.

“I had passed many challenges to reach 7th grade at the age of 16” recalls Yisak.

Unfortunately, Yisak eventually dropped out of school that same year because he couldn’t attend school without someone always going with him. Yisak was among the first students identified by his teachers to be evaluated at our first-ever school based eye-sight screening and treatment. Yisak was screened, diagnosed with refractive error and given glasses! 

Kids who were screened and given glasses celebrate after the campaign!

Over 2200 kids like Yisak were screened in this pilot campaign, the first of its kind in Tembaro. The project had a huge impact as some kids fail in school or dropout because they can’t see and don’t have access to simple screening, diagnosis and treatment. So far, over 60 students have been identified and given glasses so they can succeed in school!