ASUNCION - All children should have the right to play and the right to good health. That's the philosophy behind a recent initiative launched by Inter Campus Paraguay with CBM Italia, an NGO working to prevent and cure blindness in the southern hemisphere.
The project – called 'Opening eyes with CBM and Inter Campus' – is being run in Asuncion. From 26 to 30 September 300 children from Inter Campus Paraguay were given eye tests and those who needed them then received glasses.
The partnership between F.C. Internazionale's social responsibility programme, CBM Italia and Fundacion Vision, CBM's partner in Paraguay, and has seen concrete support provided to children of Inter Campus Paraguay living in Cateura, a landfill town just outside the capital, and the Aldeas Infantiles SOS orphanage in Zeballos Cue.
Both Inter Campus Paraguay centres are run by former footballer and Inter Campus local coordinator Julio Gonzalez Ferreira.
This latest medical initiative in Asuncion is part of the 'Open your eyes' campaign being promoted by CBM Italy throughout October (Children's Vision Month) with the aim of raising awareness and funds to reduce the number of cases of avoidable blindness. This year five counties benefitted from the project: Ethiopia, Bolivia, Paraguay, Nepal and India.
For many of the Inter Campus Paraguay children, it wasn't just their first eye test but their first medical check-up of any sort.
Gabriel is an 11-year-old boy living in Cateura who was given a pair of glasses. His mother told us how smart and interested in school her son was, but also how difficult it was for him to follow lessons and do his homework before he had glasses.
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